


Two Minute Warning

by 1995soulmates



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Fluff and Smut, Football Star Yukhei, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Power Bottom Jungwoo, Soccer Star Jungwoo, Sub Top Yukhei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-04-20 16:53:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14265471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1995soulmates/pseuds/1995soulmates
Summary: Balancing being their team’s star player and a proper boyfriend is stressful. Scheduled weekly dinner dates helps. (Makeouts behind the bleachers before a big game helps, too.)





	1. Life on Jupiter

**Author's Note:**

> I promised that I would write for this pair because they deserve it, and I like to keep my promises. College AUs are really starting to be my go-to favorite.

“You’re gonna be late for practice,” Jungwoo whispers a little breathlessly. With his head thrown back on the pillow and his body slotted comfortably between the mattress and Yukhei, Jungwoo feels like he’s floating. His warning is hard to take seriously when it’s paired with him leaning his head to the side, exposing more of his neck, and giving Yukhei more room to work. Contently, Jungwoo sighs as his fingers slide through Yukhei’s hair encouragingly.

Six in the morning on a Saturday should be illegal to have a scheduled practice, but Yukhei’s coach gets a little overzealous when playoffs are nearing. Practices after class, practices on the weekend, practices before a game. Practice, practice, practice. Juggling his practice schedule with his game schedule, along with his school schedule doesn’t leave much time for Yukhei to spend with his boyfriend. Jungwoo is understanding though, considering his coach is just as demanding with their schedule. He’s got a five-mile morning run ahead of him in an hour. Then he’s got practice until ten. Because somehow, the five-mile run wasn’t enough.  
  
Jungwoo hooks his leg around Yukhei’s waist as he tells him, completely contradictory of his actions, “You have to go.”  
  
But that’s just his conscious speaking. They both know Yukhei has practice, but right now they don’t care. Not really, anyway. Because they don’t get this often. Time alone. Time to just take in each other’s presence and kiss when they want to. Time to relearn each other’s bodies after being separated for most of the week. Time to actually feel like they’re dating.

“Don’t wanna,” Yukhei whines. His lips, as soft and full as ever, smear against Jungwoo’s neck when he responds.

The sensation quickly returns to long kisses and soft bites against Jungwoo’s skin. He’s sensitive there, Yukhei knows that, and so Jungwoo can’t help but lift his hips off of the bed every once in a while when Yukhei’s mouth starts to feel too good. Yukhei breathes out sharply, making a sound that’s a cross between another whine and a moan because he knows he should stop—he has to go, they both know that— but he doesn’t want to.

Jungwoo smiles; with his head slightly back and his eyes toward the ceiling, he can easily picture the pout on his boyfriend’s face when the guilt of being late to practice begins to set in. Obligations of being their starting wide receiver is pressure enough; considering Yukhei has been their university’s Freshman miracle worker and more or less lead them to the top spot they have now.

So seriously, Yukhei has to go. Because the last thing Jungwoo needs is for him to actually be late and his punishment being he’s benched the next game. Not only would Jungwoo feel completely guilty about it, but he’d have to pick up the pieces of Yukhei inevitably throwing a fit. He likes to act nonchalant, but he’s a lot more burdened than he lets on and Jungwoo knows that. Football means the world to him— after Jungwoo, that is.

“Baby,” Jungwoo calls gently. There’s reluctance intertwined in his tone. The last thing he wants right now is to tell Yukhei to stop, but he knows he has to.

Yukhei makes a humming sound. But he’s focused on Jungwoo’s neck again, and his collarbones, and the sweet spot just under his left ear. Yukhei’s hand is cupping Jungwoo’s hipbone, sliding his thumb over the sharp curve of it rhythmically. Yukhei flattens his tongue and licks over Jungwoo’s pulse. Jungwoo breathes in quickly through his teeth, biting his bottom lip to silence a moan. His eyes flutter shut again. Momentarily, he forgets what he was going to say.

Between kisses, Yukhei parrots back almost mindlessly, “Baby.”

Lifting his head, Jungwoo slides two fingers under Yukhei’s chin to subside his actions and properly get his attention. Yukhei looks up at Jungwoo with his lips slightly parted and his mouth looks so inviting Jungwoo has to avert his eyes away for a second.

When he looks back, there’s sympathy in Jungwoo’s eyes as he stares into Yukhei’s pouting ones. Slowly, Jungwoo’s fingers continue to slide through Yukhei’s hair. Jungwoo’s never understood how someone could be quite this stunning. Even after waking up thirty minutes ago. Even with bed hair. Even running on four hours of sleep. Jungwoo tries not to question it, but he often reminds himself he’s lucky.

Jungwoo pulls Yukhei closer and kisses him. It’s a quick kiss; not nearly enough for either of them, but it’s meant to be a goodbye kiss. They both know if they allowed themselves any more of a chance, neither of them would stop. Yukhei pulls back, nearly panting and his eyes are begging Jungwoo to tell him to stay.

Those puppy eyes of his are his secret weapon to getting his way, and Jungwoo knows that. But Jungwoo has gotten better at saying no to his boyfriend’s persuasive, pleading face. Especially when it’s for his benefit.

So Jungwoo tells him, “Have a good practice, okay? Be careful.”

Yukhei closes his eyes defeatedly and drops his head. He sighs, just for a moment, before stealing another kiss from Jungwoo’s lips. When he pushes himself up off of Jungwoo, it takes all of Jungwoo’s willpower not to pull him back. He misses him immediately and he’s still in the room an arm’s length away.

From the bed, Jungwoo watches Yukhei search for his practice hoodie. It’s black with their university’s name written on the front and his last name written on the back in white, uppercase letters. In a bit of a hurry now that he’s broken out of his and Jungwoo’s cocoon, Yukhei grabs his practice bag, his cleats, and his water bottle.

“Fill that when you get to the field and drink it all, okay? I mean it. It’s gonna be hot today,” Jungwoo tells him in a tone stern enough that he knows Yukhei will listen, pointing to the half-empty water bottle.

For some reason, Jungwoo’s boyfriend thinks his muscles are his armor and makes him invincible to things like extra hard hits on the field and heat strokes and the common cold. It’s a mindset Jungwoo is desperately trying to break him out of. It doesn’t help that all of Yukhei’s friends are older than him and always act like they’re trying out for Jackass. They’re bad influences and enablers, but...that’s another habit to break on another day. They’re Yukhei’s teammates. And, in a lot of ways, his family. Realistically, Jungwoo knows they’re going to be in Yukhei’s life for a while, but that doesn’t mean Yukhei has to make the same choices they make.

Yukhei rolls his eyes a bit, but he nods anyway. He knows Jungwoo is right. He usually is. He tells him, a little under his breath, “I will.”

Silently, Jungwoo holds his hand out and waits for Yukhei to take it. He does, almost immediately, and leans down to kiss him again. They’re smiling when they part this time; it’s bittersweet but they’re used to it now. If they’re lucky they’ll meet up again tonight. But rarely are they that lucky.

“Don’t forget to set your alarm if you’re gonna nap a little before you have to leave,” Yukhei reminds him softly as he’s walking toward the door. Jungwoo is nodding as Yukhei adds, “Have a good practice.”

Jungwoo is reaching for a pillow to hug, already feeling lonely and somehow lesser now that Yukhei has left the bed and moments from leaving the room. Softly, Jungwoo responds, “You too, babe. I’ll see you later. Text me when your practice is over, okay?”

“Okay,” Yukhei says as he’s opening the dorm room door. He looks back at Jungwoo one more time before heading out. He closes the door softly, and Jungwoo finds himself staring at the back of the door hoping he’d turn around and come back. He knows he won’t; because he shouldn’t and once Yukhei’s mind switches to Football it’s hard to get it back. But there’s a part of Jungwoo that hopes every time this happens.

Seeing no other option, Jungwoo does at Yukhei advises and sets an alarm for half an hour before he had to leave for practice himself. The bed feels like it’s miles long now that he’s alone in it, so Jungwoo wraps himself up in the blankets, pulls the pillow closer, and settles somewhere near the middle of the bed.

 

  
⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

The problem is, they’re both popular. On and off their respective fields. So even when they aren’t at practice or at a game, there’s someone trying to capture their attention. Yukhei, the natural born social butterfly, falls into the trap every time.

Truthfully, star new-comer or not, Yukhei is shockingly well received. Jungwoo is only surprised because their university has a reputation for running in cliques and hierarchies. And not only is Yukhei a freshman, but he’s relatively new to Korea altogether. To Jungwoo’s pleasant surprise, none of those things keep Yukhei from being the life of the party; or people reluctant to get to know him. Even when the persistent language barrier becomes an issue as it does at times, Yukhei’s overall bright personality and eagerness to learn and socialize keeps him at the center of things most of the time.

All too often Jungwoo gets a text from him, hours after he knows his practice ended, telling him he’s sorry but he’s going to be out late. Most of the time he’s with his team, which Jungwoo understands. Because again, even off the field they have obligations. Sometimes Yukhei’s coach schedules what he calls team-bonding time. Like they don’t spend enough time together between games, practice, and on the road for away games. And that just cuts a chunk of boyfriend time away from the two of them.

But neither of them think it’s their place to complain. After all, this is what they signed up for. Both of them here at their university on a full athletic scholarship. They would be dumb to not give their all to their team and work themselves until it felt like they couldn’t work anymore. And with Jungwoo as captain and Yukhei as the university’s new star player, they had to live up to their expectation and their potential.  
  
On his break, Jungwoo checks his phone. Seven messages from Yukhei. If he didn’t know that Yukhei sends his text messages per sentence, he probably would’ve begun to worry a little. But instead, the feeling that washes over him is a bit of anticipated disappointment. He and Yukhei didn’t have anything specific planned for later, but somehow Jungwoo can feel those plans slipping away anyway.  
  
Yukhei tells him the coach wants him to stay late after practice with the quarterback and a few other teammates to learn some new plays. Which is fine, Jungwoo guesses. But he knows the extra practice is going to lead to them going to dinner, and then probably to someone’s dorm, and then a party, and before Jungwoo knows it it’s Monday and he hasn’t seen his boyfriend since Saturday.  
  
Truthfully, Jungwoo is guilty of that too. Getting carried away and losing track of time, that is. He does it often, honestly. Especially because he’s a perfectionist and will spend extra hours on the field doing one move over and over until he can do it in his sleep. Until his legs feel like they can’t hold him up anymore. Until they cut off the field lights and he’s no choice but to go home.  
  
Quickly, Jungwoo types back. He tells Yukhei it was okay, to have a good practice, and that he’d see him later. The usual response. But truthfully, there’s not much else he can say. He knows Yukhei wants to see him just as much, but their busy schedules don’t allow it. It’s neither of their faults. Just as he’s hitting send, one of Jungwoo’s teammates calls his name.

Then his coach: “Jungwoo-ssi! You ready?”

Jungwoo has drills to run. There is a handful of freshmen on the team now that need to learn the rules and techniques they use. And Jungwoo is in charge of making sure they know what they’re doing by the time there’s a game. But practice is only halfway over and Jungwoo feels tired already.

And somehow that makes him feel bad for his boyfriend, on the other side of campus, who he knows has to stay an extra two hours at least knowing his coach. Yukhei has a lot of energy, but as far as Jungwoo is concerned he works Yukhei way too hard. The whole team, honestly. But with Yukhei being the missing link they needed to make their quarterback look like he actually knows where he’s throwing, he’s been putting in a lot of extra practice. He comes back to Jungwoo’s dorm so exhausted at times Jungwoo is afraid he’s going to fall over.

“Okay four lines,” Jungwoo instructs. Over his shoulder, he carries a pouch with ten soccer balls in it. He drops it on the floor, kicks a few out, and passes them to his teammates. He says, raising his voice more so everyone can hear him, “We’re gonna practice this, okay? Watch me.”

Silently, and attentively, Jungwoo’s teammates and coaches watch him demonstrate an impressive but intermediate level fake. He crosses one leg over the ball, pretending he’s going to pass, but then pulls the ball back with the other. Then he drops a few steps, goes left, then pivots and takes off to the right. He shows his teammates twice, clapping and soft sounds of awe after each time, and then he instructs them to partner up with the person across from them in line to try it themselves.

Sometimes Jungwoo misses when he was just part of the team and not the captain. He likes the respect and the attention well enough, but the extra work is a bit too much sometimes. He helps the coach make the schedules and the lines and spends extra hours reviewing their games and practice tapes to find places they can improve. Jungwoo is good at it; there’s no doubt about that. When it comes to his sport he can be extremely technical and catch even the smallest inconsistencies. But still, it drained him mentally as it did physically.

He and his line-mates are pulled aside after Jungwoo’s demonstration and given a special lesson by their advanced skills coach. The four of them run more intense drills separately for just as long as the other teammates do, and Jungwoo thinks his lungs forget how to work by the time it’s over for good.

When he thinks he’s recovered, he calls Yukhei on his way into the locker room to shower and change. It’s two in the afternoon and Jungwoo is almost positive Yukhei is still in practice, or maybe he’s just with his teammates, but either way, he doesn’t answer his phone.

Pressing himself against the cool, metal lockers, Jungwoo says quietly after the tone, “Hi baby, everything’s fine I was just...I don’t know, saying hi I guess. My practice is over but I guess yours isn’t yet so just...call me back or something when you get this, okay? Um..be careful. I love you. I’ll see you later, hopefully.”

Jungwoo removes the phone from his ear and is immediately met with his teammates making cooing sounds and awing at him like they’re all in high school again. One of them pretends to wipe a tear away, and it earns him a playful shove from Jungwoo into the lockers behind him.

Blushing a bit, Jungwoo stuffs his phone back in his bag, mumbles that he’s going to take a shower, and heads off.

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Jungwoo’s friends have always been supportive of his and Yukhei’s relationship, even before it was a relationship at all. Back when Yukhei was just the (gorgeous) new face on campus who somehow was rumored to start varsity when the season began. Back when the two of them would intentionally take the long way to practice just to pass by each other’s field and maybe, by a lucky strike, catch a glimpse of each other.

All of the athletes at their university were on campus about three weeks early just for tryouts and practice. So for a while, their teams commingled in their own little sports world before the rest of the students arrived in by the end of August. Within that time, Jungwoo and Yukhei spent more time trying to subtly catch each other in passing than they did paying attention to much else.

For weeks, the two of them pined over each other like two Juniors in high school with crushes. And for weeks Jungwoo’s teammates encouraged him to make the first move. To do more than just stare and smile awkwardly when they pass each other. Mostly because it was getting sort of pathetic to watch the two of them in the beginning stages of puppy love, or whatever they were in.

Jungwoo’s always been a bit shy. Until you get to know him, and then at times, he’s quite hard to contain or get to be quiet. So Jungwoo couldn’t quite understand his overbearing _need_ to just talk to Yukhei; to do something completely out of his comfort zone like ask him out first. Which, for the record, Jungwoo never does. But that feeling was there-- every day-- until he finally talked to him.

With Jungwoo, Yukhei wasn’t nearly as obnoxiously loud as he was with his teammates. He was adorably shocked at Jungwoo approaching him first, it was written all over his face, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that was damn near begging Jungwoo to ask him out on a date.

Nervously, Yukhei had scratched at the top of his practice helmet as Jungwoo greeted him. But Jungwoo had lost his nerve about three seconds after he said hi, and then it was up to Yukhei to finish what Jungwoo so desperately wanted to start.

It didn’t take long for Jungwoo to realize that Yukhei’s first language wasn’t Korean, and he found it both endearing and impressive the way he was able to communicate with the standard level he did know at the time. Their conversation ended with Yukhei asking if Jungwoo maybe wanted to get sushi with him later, and Jungwoo a little too eagerly saying he’d love to.

Turns out, it was much more than puppy love.

(Needless to say, Jungwoo’s teammates damn near threw a party.)

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

If they’re lucky, they spend two nights out of the week together. Commonly, they only get one. Even if one of them isn’t traveling for an away game, it’s still hard. Because they have morning practice, then classes, then afternoon practice, and then schoolwork. Sometimes after they go to the gym. Often, they’re sucked into some social event that keeps them out half of the night. And the end result is that they keep missing each other.  
  
They see each other when they can, and they often make surprise visits at the other’s practice before their coaches notice they’re gone and they have to go back. They use that time to steal kisses from each other's lips and memorize the feeling of their boyfriend's hands on their skin. Both know it'll be longer than either than either of them want before they can feel it again.

They do all they can to catch each other’s games. When they do, they’re in the front row with a sign and cheering the other on obnoxiously loud. The only times they miss each other’s games is when they have one of their own and are forced to. Both apologize profusely each time, even though they both know it’s out of their control. 

  
Yukhei buys Jungwoo flowers sometimes and has them shipped to his dorm room door with a bow on it and a card. He does that a lot when he’s away for a few days for football and Jungwoo is still at the campus. Sometimes he does it just because. Either way, it makes Jungwoo smile.  
  
None of it is nearly as satisfying as being with each other in person. No text or call or flower arrangement can compare. But they try. They really, really do.

 

  
⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Weekly dinner dates have become their thing in the attempt to spend time together. Actual time that’s not the spare hour they have early in the morning after they’ve managed to have a night together. Or quick stops at each other’s practice before heading off to their own. Or going to a party together but ending up being separated for most of the night because they’re pulled off by their different friend groups.

So Mondays, after class and practice, at a restaurant of usually Yukhei’s choice, they meet up. They intentionally clear their schedule, tell their friends not to bother them but turn their phones off anyway, and enjoy a few hours of just each other’s company.

This time their date is at an Italian spot they’re both way too underdressed to be in. Jungwoo in black Adidas soccer joggers and a black hoodie to match, and Yukhei in gray joggers and a maroon off-brand hoodie. Both of them still in their practice outfits with no time to change into something more date-worthy. They both know neither of them cares, though.

“How was your week?” Jungwoo starts. He hates that he doesn’t have to just ask about Yukhei’s day, it’s a whole week they usually miss of each other's life. And it’s unfair, really. Considering they’re always on the same campus at the same time. Just _always_ in different places, with different people, doing different things.

Yukhei is scanning the alcoholic drink menu like he’s going to order something other than a beer. Jungwoo thinks it’s cute the way he scans it over mumbling, "Oh my God," to himself as he's reading with his finger under each word as he goes. He looks up at Jungwoo and smiles.

“It was okay,” he says simply. “Missed you, though.”

It’s amazing that even after dating for months, Yukhei can still make him blush or get butterflies in his stomach. The only upside to not being able to see each other every day is missing each other in the way that they do. Which, at first, sounds like a paradox. But Jungwoo builds up so much of his longing for Yukhei over the days of not seeing each other, or only seeing each other for moments at a time, that every Monday feels like their first date all over again. It’s sappy, and he’s never said this out loud, but it feels like he falls for Yukhei all over again too.

“I missed you too,” Jungwoo says back, voice soft and calm. Yukhei has always loved his voice and how smooth it is, and how comforting it is to him. Under the table, Yukhei slides his foot forward until it knocks into Jungwoo’s. Naturally, Jungwoo opens his leg and lets Yukhei rest his knee against his own.

Then, Jungwoo asks, “Why was your week just okay? Did something bad happen to you?”

“No,” Yukhei says, warding away Jungwoo’s worry. He always worries. Yukhei finds it cute. It’s nice to know how much he cares about him. “Just long practices, I guess. The usual.”

Jungwoo understands that better than anyone. And he also thinks maybe that’s why the two of them work so well together. Because they are completely understanding of the other’s demanding schedule and their lack of time for anything else besides their demanding schedule. He thinks maybe if the two of them were with anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to make it work. Yukhei is so much more than his boyfriend. He’s his best friend. And his teammate, although they play different sports. And his counselor when he needs it.

It’s hard not to talk about their sports, even when the conversation is about something completely different. But to be honest, it was the starting point of their relationship, so they don’t mind. And both love hearing about the other’s progress and about upcoming games and special events. Like the fundraiser party, Jungwoo's soccer team is throwing Saturday night Yukhei promises over and over to be present for. And Yukhei’s game on Friday that Jungwoo wouldn’t miss for the world.

They both order a beer and a glass of water. And in an attempt to eat healthy to stay in shape they start with a salad. But Yukhei gets bored halfway through his and changes his appetizer to a plate of mozzarella sticks and tells Jungwoo he’s a growing boy that needs his carbs when he receives a judgemental look. There’s not much Jungwoo can do besides stare at him lovingly as he happily devours his plate. It’s not like any of Yukhei’s bad eating habits ever show on him. He eats portions of three people and never gains a single pound.

Over their appetizers, they talk about school. Then, they talk about their families and how Yukhei’s planning a trip to England with his family for spring break. He urges Jungwoo to come with them. Says it’d be the perfect time to bond and get to know his family.

“And, that’s like seven whole days of us together...nonstop,” Yukhei persuades. Then, he says, with a bit of a smirk, “I bet I can get my parents to let us have our own hotel room.”

When Jungwoo is slow to answer, Yukhei slaps his hand on the table in excitement and says, "Let's go to England, man!" in English, mostly to make Jungwoo laugh. Mission accomplished as always. It earns them looks from the guests around them, much older and apparently much quieter, but they don't care much. Jungwoo does put his index finger to his lips to signal Yukhei to stop yelling though. It's the least he can do.

Yukhei, seemingly unaffected by the recent events, presses cutely, "Sooo...?"

It’s tempting, Jungwoo admits. He's never been to England before. Not to mention this would be his and Yukhei's first vacation together. And the idea of having sex right next door to his parents, trying to keep quiet, but thriving off of the danger of moaning just a bit too loud or rocking the bed against the wall a bit too hard, does excite Jungwoo more than he’s willing to vocalize. But he’s still a bit timid. Properly meeting each other’s parents is a big deal. Both of their parents know they’re dating, but they haven’t spoken much than saying hi on the phone. He tells Yukhei he’ll think about it.

When their main meal comes, they spend more time feeding each other than they do feeding themselves. Jungwoo keeps leaning over the table, fork in one hand with his other hand under it to catch anything that might spill, to give Yukhei another bite of his pasta.

“Here, open,” Jungwoo says softly as he feeds Yukhei one more before sitting back down. Fondly, Jungwoo watches Yukhei make cute, happy noises as he enjoys the flavors of Jungwoo’s dish. Then he takes a bite of his own and tells Jungwoo that this is the best place they’ve ever gone and they have to come back next week.

They finish their meal and share dessert, and kiss between bites. There’s vanilla ice cream on Jungwoo’s lip that Yukhei leans over the table quickly to lick off. He laughs shyly as he sits down in his seat and Jungwoo pretends to scold him for being borderline sexual in public. He doesn’t mean it, though. They both know that. And Yukhei nearly throws himself into a laughing fit when Jungwoo seizes the opportunity to reciprocate.

“Thought you said we can’t do that in public,” Yukhei says back, smiling. He tries hard to use his inside voice Jungwoo is always pestering him about. His face is a bit red, a mix of shock and pure joy. Jungwoo’s response in an innocent shrug and a smile sweeter than their dessert. He plays it up and bats his eyelashes at Yukhei until he playfully shoves him. But then Yukhei leans in for another kiss, more serious this time, cupping the side of Jungwoo’s face to keep him in place.

He tastes like the caramel syrup that covers the ice cream and Yukhei finds himself licking at Jungwoo’s tongue just a bit. They kiss for a while because they can’t stop themselves and they have a week’s worth of kisses they owe each other. Their bodies work on autopilot and they each deepen the kiss a bit, tongues sliding over each other less playfully now. They only pull apart when Yukhei senses the table to the right of them glaring for a bit too long.

Yukhei isn’t usually shy when it comes to most things, but sometimes, with things like this, he gets cold feet. In a lot of ways, he’s not as bold as Jungwoo. Especially when it comes to the two of them as a couple. Besides their first date, Jungwoo has done most of the first moves and advances in their relationship; which he doesn’t mind at all. But knowing this side of Yukhei that most people who knew him wouldn’t even believe existed reminds Jungwoo to be careful with him sometimes.

“They’re staring,”Yukhei says, only centimeters away from Jungwoo’s lips after he breaks the kiss. His eyes dart to his right and he very obviously gestures with his head to the group of four at the table over. Jungwoo, more subtly, looks and then nods. They were definitely staring. And if Jungwoo were them, he’d probably stare too.

Softly, he says back, “You’re right. Maybe we should let them stare. Give them a good show, huh?”

“Jungwoo,” Yukhei whines, voice raising up a few octaves, embarrassed properly now. Jungwoo takes pride in being the only one that not only can make Yukhei this cutely flustered, but being the only one that gets to see it too. Yukhei drops the class-clown role when he’s alone with him, and Jungwoo thinks Yukhei must trust him a lot to be able to do that. That's something Jungwoo doesn't take lightly.

He plops back down in his seat and runs his hands through his hair despite his hood still being up. Jungwoo takes his seat, too, and picks up his spoon to raise like a white flag. Giggling still, Yukhei leans forward to reach their dessert plate and takes a bite.

They finish their dessert at a level rated for all ages.

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

"What are you doing here?" Jungwoo asks, clearly surprised, with a dumb smile on his face. He wasn't expecting Yukhei to be standing outside of the locker room waiting for him. He's got a bottle of water and a protein bar in his hand as well that he hands off to Jungwoo once he's close enough. Yukhei's smiling brightly, truthfully one of the best things Jungwoo's ever seen in his life, and puts his arm around Jungwoo as they walk. 

Yukhei shrugs. "What, I can't walk my boyfriend to practice?"

Jungwoo rolls his eyes.

"Of course you can. Just wasn't expecting you. It's a nice surprise."

He shoves Yukhei softly and then nudges into him with a gentle brush of their shoulders. Yukhei quickly takes the bag of equipment Jungwoo is carrying for him and smiles. He says, "See? If I wasn't here you'd have to carry these all by yourself."

"I can carry them! I do it every day!" Jungwoo tells him defensively. He reaches for the bag because he _can carry it himself_ , but Yukhei moves it out of his reach. 

Making a muscle with his other arm, Yukhei tells Jungwoo, "Yeah, maybe. But not with this much ease."

That earns him a swat to his stomach that only eggs him on more. He tells Jungwoo he's got abs of steel now and that he didn't even feel it. 

"Be careful, babe. Might hurt your hand," Yukhei warns smugly. He's quick to dodge Jungwoo's attempt to push him again and laughs when Jungwoo begins to chase him. They jog down the hallway laughing, and Yukhei makes a quick turn into the entrance of the stairwell. He's smooth with the way he wraps his arm around Jungwoo's waist to pull him close. 

Jungwoo walks Yukhei backward until he's pressed against the wall, hidden from anyone walking straight through the door. The bag slides out of his hand as he uses both now to place around Jungwoo's midsection. As he moves closer, Jungwoo whispers to him, "Caught you." 

"Maybe I wanted to be caught," Yukhei says back, voice deep and smooth and way too sexy for Jungwoo right now. Because they're in a stairwell at school minutes before both of their practices are scheduled to start. The tone of Yukhei's voice lets Jungwoo know he doesn't care about either of those things. His hands are daringly low on the small of Jungwoo's back, tempting him to go a step further. 

Yukhei swallows hard; noticeably his Adam's Apple bobs in his throat as he stares into Jungwoo's eyes. He requests, his tone borderline begging, "Kiss me?"

There's never been a time when Jungwoo was ever able to deny Yukhei anything. (Not that he was going to say no, anyway.) And so he steps a half-step closer, leans his body into Yukhei's and kisses him. Jungwoo's hands are quick to settle on Yukhei's face, his thumbs gently petting at his skin. The breath Yukhei lets out sounds like relief, and Jungwoo physically feels Yukhei's entire body relaxing like his kiss is a sedative. 

It's easy for them to settle down with the looming cloud of going to practice over both of their heads. They're only allowed to stay in their pretend bubble for a few minutes before they break their kiss regretfully. Jungwoo leans his head forward, rests his forehead against Yukhei's and whispers, "This sucks." 

"I know," Yukhei says back. He closes his eyes and just for a few more seconds pretends he and Jungwoo are they only two people in the world. Comfortingly, he rubs Jungwoo's back and tells him, "I'll try to come over tonight, okay?" 

Pulling back but with his hands now on Yukhei's shoulders, Jungwoo says, "Only if you can, okay? Not if you're too tired."

Yukhei laughs softly. "I can come over to _actually_ sleep too, you know."

Jungwoo breaks away first to reach down and grab his bag. Again, Yukhei tries to hold it for him, but Jungwoo tells him he needs to get to practice himself. Yukhei whines for a minute, complaining that his whole point of coming here was to walk Jungwoo to practice. He pouts at Jungwoo and tells him he won't get in trouble for being a few minutes late to his own practice. 

And again, Jungwoo has never been able to deny Yukhei anything. 

They walk arm and arm to Jungwoo's practice and he sends Yukhei off with the hope of seeing him tonight. 

"Have a good practice, babe! Kick ass!" Yukhei yells as he's jogging in the opposite direction Jungwoo is walking to get to his own field. His voice, as loud as ever, captures the attention of everyone on Jungwoo's team. They all laugh as he blushes and pretends not to hear the echo of his boyfriend's call bouncing off the bleachers. 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Today is rare for two reasons. One, Yukhei has the day off; and two, Jungwoo is in bed with him. The temperature reached over 102 degrees yesterday and that resulted in three of Yukhei’s teammates nearly fainting at practice after attempting to do their normal routine.

Jungwoo’s said it before, but Yukhei’s coach is an idiot. He’s so win-hungry that he rarely considers that the boys on his team are human. And it’s not just Jungwoo’s protective boyfriend senses that tell him that he overworks the team way too hard. Yesterday was proof. Luckily, when Yukhei showed up at Jungwoo's door at almost 10 PM he was only slightly overheated. Nothing a cool shower and an icepack to his head and neck couldn't fix. But some members of Yukhei's team aren't so fortunate. So today, as required by the university, Yukhei’s team has the day off. And Jungwoo’s team has an air-conditioned indoor practice in about an hour and a half.

It’s nice waking up in each other’s arms. It doesn’t happen often enough. And usually, around this time, Yukhei would be on his way out to practice. Jungwoo is savoring the fact that the clock is reading 6:30 AM and he’s still here. He told Yukhei last night to skip class today if he didn't feel well. Jungwoo's hoping he doesn't go even if he feels okay. He deserves a full day off. 

During the night, Jungwoo ended up on his back with Yukhei sleeping on his shoulder. His arm is starting to lose feeling a little, from Yukhei’s head applying pressure to the same spot for so long, but it’s an easily given sacrifice to watch his boyfriend sleep.

For both Yukhei’s benefit and his, Jungwoo begins petting the side of Yukhei’s hair. Hopefully to restore full sensation in his arm and also to lull Yukhei into what Jungwoo hopes is a deeper level of sleep. He deserves it, Jungwoo thinks again. Jungwoo knows he works hard too, but Yukhei comes home from practice looking completely drained sometimes. And last night was proof that it could and would get worse. They're student-athletes, not machines. They need rest too. And between the intense practices, the pressure-filled games and keeping up with academics, it seems like Yukhei never gets any real time to just relax.

So this day— this moment, even— Jungwoo tries to make last as long as he can.

They’re apart often enough for Jungwoo to feel like he’s constantly missing Yukhei, and his face, and his body, and his loud, adorable, infectious personality. But even if Jungwoo was privileged enough to spend every second of every hour with Yukhei, he doesn’t think he’d ever quite get used to how beautiful he is. And it’s rare that he has enough free time to admire him like this. So he studies his beautiful locks of hair, and his model-like facial features, and the slow, rhythmic way he's breathing against Jungwoo's neck. Jungwoo commits these images to memory.

The blinds are drawn but the budding sun still provides light into the room. Just enough to spotlight the slope of Yukhei’s nose and highlight his lips. The angle of the sun shows off just how long Yukhei’s eyelashes are, and how prettily they rest against his skin with his eyes closed like this. Gently, he breathes out through his mouth, lips slightly parted, and the way he’s resting against Jungwoo’s shoulder makes them pout just a bit. It’s cute, Jungwoo thinks. Everything about him is cute.

Yukhei is a natural cuddler, so he’s got his arm stretched across Jungwoo’s midsection. Unconsciously, he’s got a gentle grip on Jungwoo’s shirt that he holds a little tighter when he begins to dream. Yukhei is a vivid dreamer most nights. It goes right along with his vivid personality. Jungwoo’s gotten used to the little mumbles and the small, sudden movements he makes during the night. And it’s endearing, the natural way he pulls Jungwoo closer as he sleeps.

Sometimes Jungwoo forgets just how clingy and affectionate Yukhei is. Being in a relationship with him has made Jungwoo a cuddler too. He’d never actually craved someone’s presence until Yukhei. Nowadays, he can barely resist the urge to have his hand on Yukhei’s thigh when they sit next to each other or hold on to his arm as they walk. And it’s suddenly impossible for Jungwoo to get a good night’s sleep without Yukhei in his arms. But if Jungwoo’s honest, his boyfriend has changed his life in much bigger ways than making him touchy.

Studying Yukhei’s face allows Jungwoo to notice even the slightest differences. He registers the furrowing of Yukhei’s eyebrows as an indicator that he’s waking up. Truthfully, his internal clock probably won’t let him sleep much longer, but Jungwoo thinks he deserves to.

Changing the petting motion Jungwoo has settled with to a massaging motion at the back of Yukhei’s scalp, Jungwoo begins to hum to him. It’s a lullaby Jungwoo’s mother used to sing to him when he was younger. He’s always found it comforting and hopes the melody will reverse Yukhei from waking up and allow him to get a bit more rest.

Somehow, Jungwoo’s plan is counteractive. The vibration and sudden noise cause Yukhei’s eyes to flutter open. Softly and slowly at first, Yukhei blinks as he stares blankly at the wall across the room with a slight confusion. He's always a bit disoriented when he wakes up and Jungwoo watches him fondly as his brain registers that he's safe in Jungwoo's room, on Jungwoo's bed, with Jungwoo.

Jungwoo watches him silently, though. He hopes maybe the stillness of the room will persuade him to close his eyes again.

It doesn’t.

“Morning,” Yukhei mumbles; his voice somehow much deeper seconds after waking up. He has yet to look up at Jungwoo, but the gentle grip he had on Jungwoo’s shirt has turned into a soothing rubbing motion. Yukhei lifts the shirt just high enough to slip his fingers under the material and massage at Jungwoo’s skin.

Jungwoo raises his eyebrows, a bit impressed. “How’d you know I was awake?”

He can feel Yukhei smiling. And naturally, Jungwoo smiles too. Yukhei’s mood is always contagious.

“You’re always awake before me,” Yukhei replies simply. He doesn't have quite enough energy yet to make a joke. He muffles a yawn by pressing his mouth to Jungwoo’s stomach. He kisses over the spot through the shirt when he’s done. Jungwoo watches him lovingly, keeping the pace he has going through Yukhei’s hair steady.

"How'd you sleep?" Jungwoo asks. 

It's quiet in his room. They rarely have the television on, and he doesn't have a roommate. With the blinds drawn and the morning just beginning, it feels like they're orbiting through space. Like maybe they've landed on another planet, just the two of them, and have time to spend in each other's arms. Life on Jupiter sounds nice. 

Yukhei hums. "I slept well. Really, really well." 

Lifting his head so that he can properly look Jungwoo in the eyes he asks, "What about you?"

"Always sleep well when you're here," Jungwoo tells him. He pulls gently at Yukhei's hair so he gets the hint and lifts himself up. When he's close enough, Jungwoo guides their lips together and kisses him. And despite Jungwoo having practice later, they feel no sense of urgency. They have time. For once. 

Keeping their lips connected, Yukhei lifts his leg up and over Jungwoo's frame so that he's straddling him. Slowly, sits himself down teasingly low on Jungwoo's stomach. He has a gentle grip on Jungwoo's chin, keeping his mouth open just a bit as he kisses him. And for a while, Jungwoo lets him have the control for a while. He relaxes under Yukhei's weight and stays still when he scoots his ass lower on Jungwoo's body. 

Yukhei, even with all of his sometimes sloppy eagerness, has always been a great kisser. The thing about Yukhei is that he's completely a people-pleaser. He's loud and he's wild and he seems a bit out of control, Jungwoo knows more than anyone, but when it comes to making someone feel good he's probably the best at it. In and out of bed, truly. Out of Jungwoo's short sexual history, Yukhei is definitely the best. 

The thing about Yukhei is that he's extremely attentive to the people he loves. And he takes detailed notes of the things they like and don't like, and once he figures that out, he's just about the only person you need in your life. That's Jungwoo's experience with him, that is. 

So he's happy to let Yukhei kiss him and grind his hips on him every once in a while just to hear the way Jungwoo's breath changes when he does so. Gently, Jungwoo has his hands on Yukhei's hips, controlling the rolling of them. Sometimes, after he gets Yukhei really worked up, he likes to hold his hips still and watch him desperately try to move the way he wants to get the pleasure his body feels like it's going to explode if he doesn't get. There's nothing quite as beautiful as the way he begs in Jungwoo's ear to move--  _just a little bit, hyung, please, I need_ \-- and then the way he whimpers when Jungwoo finally lets him go. 

They've gotten off like that more than a few times; like stereotypical horny college kids grinding on each other with their boxers still on and everything, breathing in each other's air and moaning each other's name. Knowing they should move to a different position, but their movements feeling too good to do anything else. Their hormone-driven brains not letting them think of anything else but how close they were to coming and how good everything feels and the euphoric feeling that washes over them after each time.

But Jungwoo thinks Yukhei also deserves more than a dry-humping quickie on his day off. Those are reserved for the mornings when they only have twenty minutes and they're both already too far gone to do anything else. Today, they have more time and Jungwoo is determined to make the most of it. 

His movements must scare Yukhei a bit because he makes a gasping type of sound against Jungwoo's lips when he bucks his hips upward to switch their position. Yukhei is tall and he's got muscles, but Jungwoo isn't much shorter than him and all, so it's easy to flip them over. Yukhei's got a smile on his face when his head bounces on the pillow. Almost instantly he's still on the bed, looking up at Jungwoo eagerly...but patiently. Just like he's been taught. Patience is a hard thing to get out of Yukhei but Jungwoo is working on it. He tries to tell him, at least in this case, his reward is so much better when he's patient and waits for it. 

Yukhei's patience runs out quickly, as expected, and he's reaching for Jungwoo. He wants to kiss him, lifts his chin and knits his eyebrows together in an attempt to ask. Yukhei licks his lips and then leaves them a bit parted, breathing out heavily through them. Above him, Jungwoo studies the way he can see his pulse slamming when he looks at his neck, and the growing desperation when he looks at his eyes. It's cute, like waving a treat in front of a puppy. 

Intentionally, Jungwoo buries his face against Yukhei's neck, kissing him there instead of his lips. He presses open-mouthed kisses to Yukhei's skin and slides his teeth as he moves downward. When he reaches the collarbone, Jungwoo bites down hard enough to get a reaction out of Yukhei but soft enough so that it doesn't leave a bruise. Not a very apparent bruise, that is. Yukhei's tan skin can stand a harder bite than Jungwoo's paler skin. If Yukhei bit him with the same force he's using right now, Jungwoo would have hickies down the side of his neck. 

Jungwoo almost talks himself out of it, but Yukhei's neck is way too pretty to _not_ leave his mark there. It's silly, Jungwoo knows it, but sometimes he thinks about all the people on campus that were after Yukhei before he got together with him. And how the crowd hasn't died down much at all even though just about everyone knows they're together. And so a little selfishly, Jungwoo lets himself bite and suck at Yukhei's neck until it's enough to bruise. He doesn't think it'd be terrible for Yukhei to walk around with his signature on him for a couple days. 

Jungwoo kisses down Yukhei’s body, purposely scarce and quick with his actions just to hear the way Yukhei whines a little at the lack of satisfaction. Jungwoo is great at a lot of things, but teasing Yukhei is probably his best party trick. Desperate already, Yukhei lifts his ass off of the mattress, chasing Jungwoo’s body and wanting much more than he’s willing to offer right now. But Jungwoo likes to make him wait. And loves the way he beautifully falls apart while doing so.

Yukhei’s lower half is still clothed, and Jungwoo’s barely touched him truthfully, but Yukhei looks like he’s unraveling already. With his hair, growing out a bit longer nowadays, falling perfectly messy across his forehead and against the pillow under him. His strands chocolate brown in contrast between the bright white pillow case and his caramel colored skin.

Jungwoo’s boyfriend is beautiful all the time, stunningly so, but he’s _breathtaking_ like this. His eyes, always so wide and innocent looking, now begging for something so sinful as for Jungwoo’s mouth on his dick. He watches Jungwoo kiss along his waistline, just above where his boxers rest, with his eyebrows knitted closely together and his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Hyung,” Yukhei calls through his teeth, letting his lip slip from between their clutches. He wants so badly to guide Jungwoo’s mouth lower but knowing he shouldn’t. Because Jungwoo didn’t say he could. And Yukhei listens well. To Jungwoo, at least.

But god, he wants to so bad. He wants—

“Hyung, _please_ ,” he whines a moment later, when he’s not given the instant gratification he’s been spoiled into expecting. He knows Jungwoo babies him, and he knows he shouldn’t allow himself to get as used to it as he did. Because right now he feels like his whole body is burning from the inside out, and no matter how much be asks, Jungwoo won’t give him what he needs. His tone is nearly begging and Jungwoo’s hardly gotten started. At his sides, Yukhei grips the bedsheets to keep himself as still as possible. He’s not so good at it, though.

A bit smug, Jungwoo asks innocently between licks to Yukhei’s hipbones, “Please, what?”

Jungwoo kisses at Yukhei’s midsection with his hands gripping Yukhei’s sides to keep him still. Jungwoo smears his lips across Yukhei’s naval and works his way back down carefully and slowly. Under his lips, Jungwoo can feel Yukhei’s abs tightening— tense with anticipation and eagerness. He pants under Jungwoo, wishing almost frantically _lower, please hyung, lower, lower_ in his head as he watches Jungwoo work.

Jungwoo knows he holds all the power right now, Yukhei hanging onto his every subtle movement. He can imagine him trying to predict which touch is going to be the one for real. The one where Jungwoo finally touches him where he wants. Impatiently, Yukhei sighs.

Yukhei's eyes fall shut as Jungwoo’s hands run upward on his thighs. They squeeze every once in a while and stop just high enough on his inner thighs for the anticipation to grow. Yukhei’s eyes peel open again and he watches Jungwoo finally, _finally_  inch down his boxers.

He’s less cruel at the moment and slides the clothing down Yukhei’s legs without much teasing. His mouth follows the garments as they’re lowered, pressing soft kisses to Yukhei’s hipbone and the top his thigh. Jungwoo smiles when he notices Yukhei’s legs are shaking. Anticipation, not nervousness. He doesn't just want Jungwoo, he needs him. And he needs his hand. And fuck, he needs his mouth _so_ bad. 

“Calm down, baby,” he tells him in that soft, soothing voice Jungwoo always has. But somehow it makes Yukhei’s heart slam a little harder in his chest. And it’s nearly impossible to do as he’s told when it’s immediately followed by Jungwoo’s hand around his dick, properly stroking him now.

“ _O-oh_ ,” Yukhei moans out a bit stuttered with a heavy exhale. It’s almost instant the way his eyes fall shut and he tries to fuck upward into Jungwoo’s hand, the sensation feeling too good for him to have any self-control. He doesn't do it on purpose, the way he raises his hips and tries to take more than Jungwoo's giving him. But does and Jungwoo takes his hand away as his first warning.

With a disappointed suck of his teeth, Jungwoo shakes his head as he presses down on Yukhei’s hipbone to keep him in place. His voice is still soft when he tells Yukhei, “Stay still.”

Yukhei nods, he always does, but the truest test to see if he'll listen is when Jungwoo goes again. Jungwoo takes hold of Yukhei's dick again and he watches his face twist with pleasure when he begins moving his hand. Slowly at first, but quickly to a medium speed. Almost instantly, Yukhei is out of breath. He tosses his head to the side, hair going with it and covering part of his face, and whispers strings of desperate nothing into the air. 

Jungwoo leans forward, hovering his mouth over Yukhei's dick. He knows Yukhei can feel his breath teasing the head and he unconsciously lifts his hips again, wanting nothing more than the warmth of Jungwoo's mouth to surround him. But Jungwoo pulls away, asking him strongly, "What did I say?"

"I'm sorry," Yukhei says in English, clearly flustered. Then, "I'm sorry," in Korean, shaking his head like he's confused. 

Jungwoo pouts at him and makes a cooing sound. He's cute when he's like this. Yukhei is cute all the time but especially like this. And Jungwoo loves that he's the only one that gets to see this side of him too. The side of him that's completely vulnerable, begging for Jungwoo to make him feel good. Promising Jungwoo the world if he'd just kiss him. Swearing that he'll be good, that he'll listen, that he'll do whatever Jungwoo wants if he just touches him. 

"It's okay, baby, you're just excited, right?" Jungwoo says to him slowly, twisting his hand on his dick every once in a while to watch the way he bites his lip each time. Immediately, he's nodding his head in agreement. He'd say yes to anything Jungwoo wants right now if it gets him to move his hand or use his mouth or do _something_. 

Again, Jungwoo leans forward to kiss his hipbone. Softly, he prompts, "What do you say when you want something, Yukhei?"

"Please," Yukhei answers immediately. "Please, hyung, please--"

His begging is cut short and turned into a moan when he feels Jungwoo's mouth beginning to work on him. His mouth is warm and his tongue is soft and knows too many tricks for Yukhei being the only person Jungwoo's ever blown. He's gotten scarily good at this and sometimes Yukhei wants to ask where he learned some of the things he knows, but he thinks some things are better-kept secret. 

Jungwoo uses his hand for the parts of Yukhei's dick he can't reach with his mouth and has them meet in the middle. With long licks of his tongue and a twirling motion of his hand, Jungwoo has Yukhei gasping under him within minutes. He's always been loud, as able to guess by how loud Yukhei is in his everyday life, but he's beautifully noisy in bed. His voice, usually so deep, turns a bit high pitched when he's getting close. He moans slowly to start; full, elongated types of moans. And he's vocal, tells Jungwoo when something feels good and when it starts to feel really good he can't talk at all. When he's reduced to nothing but helpless whimpers and short jerks of his hips, Jungwoo knows he's close. 

They're there right now.

Yukhei's got a firm grip on Jungwoo's hair that he lets him keep, and he's making pretty little noises as Jungwoo gets him closer to his release. If Jungwoo wasn't so determined to keep Yukhei to himself he'd videotape him when he comes just so the world could see what they've been missing. Because it's beautiful and somehow it's more satisfying to make Yukhei come than it is to come himself. 

With concentration, Jungwoo keeps his mouth moving when he feels Yukhei release. He lets out two moans and then he's nearly silent when he finishes completely. The grip Yukhei had in Jungwoo's hair turns into a petting motion, and then to nothing at all when he's a bit too far gone to do anything. Jungwoo keeps going for a few long seconds after Yukhei's done; until Yukhei's whispering breathlessly to him, "Okay, hyung, okay--"

Jungwoo pulls off and kisses up Yukhei's midsection to his mouth. Weakly, Yukhei kisses back, still clearly recovering. 

Smiling, Jungwoo says, "At least you'll sleep on your day off now." 

Yukhei would playfully push him, tell him to shut up, or something. But his eyes feel too heavy to open right now and his body is floating through outer space again. The two have landed back on Jupiter. It's where they belong. He stays relatively still on the bed; breathing still trying to even out. 

Sweetly, Jungwoo kisses his cheek and then his forehead. Gently, he brushes Yukhei's hair back before settling beside him. Across the room, Jungwoo takes notice of the time. He has to go soon. 

An extra five minutes never hurt anyone, so Jungwoo cuddles up against Yukhei. When he's recovered, Yukhei rolls over and buries his head in Jungwoo's neck. He's always extra affectionate post-orgasm. 

"I love you," Yukhei whispers to him. 

Very extra affectionate. 

But Jungwoo knows he means it; even if he didn't have all of those biochemicals running high through his blood right now. Smiling a bit, Jungwoo pets his head and tells him he loves him back. 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

It's always bittersweet when one of them has to leave the private world they've built themselves. But duty calls and Jungwoo knows his coach would kill him if he missed practice. Reluctantly, with a sigh, Jungwoo gently untangles himself from Yukhei and stands up. 

As expected, Yukhei had fallen asleep nearly minutes after he and Jungwoo settled. Jungwoo's extra five minutes accidentally turned into ten when he didn't have the heart to risk waking his boyfriend. But now he's close to being late for practice and he knows he has to go. 

Jungwoo grabs his practice gear, kisses Yukhei on the forehead, and heads out the door. 

Going to practice suddenly doesn't seem so bad when he knows, for sure this time, Yukhei will be there when he gets back home. 


	2. Crash Landing

Traveling for an away game usually results in the two of them missing each other so much they feel nauseous. It’s like there’s a constant yearning feeling in the pit of their stomach that grows as they move farther apart, and expands exponentially when they’re alone at night. If they’re lucky, they’re able to ignore the feeling for most of the day because they’re busy with their traveling, their team, and preparation for the game. But when night falls and they’re alone in some hotel room, it becomes unbearable.

Quickly into their relationship, they’ve discovered that FaceTime is their glue as well as their saving grace. Something so simple allows them to press a button and have the other’s face on their phone and their voice in their ears. They talk on the phone every day, but when one or both of them is away that number grows by two or three.

Truthfully, Jungwoo never thought he’d be able to do a long-distance relationship. He knows that what he has with Yukhei isn’t long-distance per se, but most of the time it’s pretty damn close. They’re away from each other for most days out of the week simply because they’re too busy to see each other; and times like this, when one of them has to travel for an away game, the number of days apart increases.

Jungwoo thinks what makes them work is that they are in constant communication, even when they haven’t seen each other for a while. They text each other good morning and chat randomly during their day when they can. Sure, sometimes their responses to each other are far and few, but they both understand each other’s demanding schedule. They’ve developed the habit of leaving each other cute voicemails when the other misses their calls, and they type out paragraphs upon paragraphs to each other when they’re having a bad day just to get their feelings out.

That’s the plus side of dating your best friend, Jungwoo concludes. He’s always in the mood to talk to Yukhei; they tell each other everything. And after months of dating, their conversations have never turned dull. It’s hard for anything to be dull with Yukhei, though. He’s a human energizer bunny. Jungwoo’s personification of a happy pill.

Yukhei had woken up early to accompany Jungwoo to the pick-up spot to catch his bus. He insisted on carrying both Jungwoo’s duffel bag and his backpack for him. And when Jungwoo complained, Yukhei attempted to hook his arm under Jungwoo’s knees and carry him bridal style as a response.

The end result was the two of them walking side by side and finding a spot under an oak tree. They separated themselves from Jungwoo’s teammates just enough to feel like they had more privacy than they actually did. Yukhei dropped Jungwoo’s bags neatly by their feet and used his arms to reel Jungwoo in instead. The cool morning air gave them a reason to huddle close; arms around each other, faces only mere inches apart.

“I already miss you,” Yukhei had mumbled with his lips pouting against Jungwoo’s temple. In a slow rhythm, Jungwoo rubbed circles against Yukhei’s back. Yukhei felt the warmth of Jungwoo’s sigh against his chin.

Jungwoo, as always, had tried to optimistic and logical. He had told him, “It’s only two days.” Then, with a sad smile and a shrug, “We’ve done longer.”

His coach likes to get to their away games a day early. The theory is that if they have an extra day to get acclimated to the field, they’ll play more comfortably during the game.

Honestly, Jungwoo thinks he’s right. He knows for a fact he spends as much time as he can the day before learning all the secrets about the field. He finds the bumps and knicks in the turf and commits them to memory. Later, he uses what he remembers to his advantage and forces the opposing team into traps on their own home field.

The benefits of an extra day away are evident in their team’s nearly flawless record and Jungwoo’s numbers being better than ever.

Beneficial for Jungwoo the star soccer player. Not-so-beneficial for Jungwoo the boyfriend. The better the team plays, the closer they come to playoffs. And playoffs, as they both know, just mean more traveling.

When the bus finally arrived, Yukhei instinctually hugged Jungwoo tighter like he had absolutely no intention of letting him go. Jungwoo is content to stay in his boyfriend’s arms while his teammates climb aboard and settle into their seats.

Between kisses, Yukhei told Jungwoo to call him when they arrive at their hotel. And to text him along the way. And that he’ll call him tonight when he gets home from practice. He gets a bit sappy sometimes, completely opposite to the way the world perceives the two of them, Jungwoo knows. But Jungwoo is happily smothered by his gigantic boyfriend.

“Set your alarm for tomorrow,” Jungwoo told Yukhei, gently carding through the back of his hair. “Don’t be late for practice before the game.”

Yukhei half-mumbled a “Mmhmm,” before reconnecting their lips.

Smiling, Jungwoo had pulled back to tell him a bit more sternly, “And drink your water!”

As expected, Jungwoo was the last to board the bus and resulted in his teammates hanging out the windows calling to him. The team is used to it though because this happens every time. So Jungwoo knows there’s a seat on the bus waiting for him and a spot to put his bags. His teammates are good to him like that.

It nearly took pliers, but the two of them had separated. Jungwoo, taking his own bags now, snuck one more kiss from Yukhei before jogging aboard his bus. He had a window seat right in the front, like he always does, which he pushed down immediately to wave to Yukhei from.

If Jungwoo’s teammates didn’t think he and Yukhei were so cute, they’d probably gag. They’ll only be gone for two days. One night. And are only going two hours away.

Jungwoo’s bus driver had shown no mercy and took off almost as quickly as Jungwoo had settled into his seat. With his hood up now, Yukhei had his hands jammed in his pockets as he took a few steps forward when the engine started to rev.

He yelled, “Good luck, babe!” just as Jungwoo’s bus began to get tinier.

The last thing he saw was Jungwoo’s fingers sending him a heart as his bus disappeared around the corner.

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Jungwoo has been staring at the ceiling for so long he’s starting to imagine stars. His exhausted body is no match for his extremely active brain. He’s not tired and he misses Yukhei and there’s seemingly nothing he can do about either of those problems. His brain won’t _shut off_ no matter how hard he tries. And he’s been trying for hours.

Right now Jungwoo’s a province away for a game and he’s resisting the urge to call Yukhei for the third time today. It’s nearing one in the morning and if Yukhei was smart he’d be asleep. Truthfully, Jungwoo knows he should be asleep too, but it’s hard to sleep when he’s on the road.

There’s nothing familiar about where he is, and the unfamiliarity makes it nearly impossible to get comfortable enough to sleep. Especially without Yukhei.

It’s not that he and Yukhei get to share a bed as often as they would like to, but they get used to the feeling of having the other there and then begin to crave it when it’s gone. Jungwoo hates how easily his brain and his heart latches on to Yukhei’s presence next to him and replays it over and over until he feels lightheaded. Until Jungwoo feels like he can’t take it anymore and has to talk to him.

Hesitantly, Jungwoo’s fingers trace the outline of his phone. It lights up whenever he raises it a certain way and each time his background picture of him and Yukhei together tortures him. For a long while, Jungwoo stares at the picture.

Then, with his brain and fingers on autopilot, Jungwoo calls Yukhei.

“Baby?” Jungwoo questions in a whisper, guilt already settling in when he can hear how sleepy Yukhei is. He answered the phone just two rings before it automatically went to voicemail. On the other end, Jungwoo heard him scramble to hold the phone the right way. His hello was replaced by a whining sound.

They had talked to each other just a few hours ago. They wished each other good night and promised to chat first thing in the morning. And ironically, it was Jungwoo that had told Yukhei jokingly to not miss him too much. So naturally, as fate would have it, Jungwoo is the one after midnight that feels like he can’t possibly sleep without hearing Yukhei’s voice one more time.

On the other end, the only thing Jungwoo can hear is Yukhei’s breathing. It’s a bit too upbeat for him to be asleep again, but Jungwoo can tell he’s falling. The corner of Jungwoo’s mouth curls up gently at the mental picture of Yukhei drifting to sleep with his phone pressed to his face.

Jungwoo asks softly, “You still awake?”

“Are you okay?” Yukhei asks flatly, the first thing popping in his mind, bypassing but inadvertently answering Jungwoo’s question. His voice is slightly slurred like he’s been drinking, but Jungwoo knows it’s just because his brain is fighting to stay awake. He had practice today, Jungwoo knows he’s exhausted.

Nodding even though Yukhei can’t see it, Jungwoo answers, “I’m fine, don’t worry. I just...wanted to talk to you.” Then he adds, because he feels the need to, “Sorry.”

Jungwoo rolls his eyes at himself. He knows he’s being a bit selfish right now. The truth is that he would’ve fallen asleep eventually. He didn’t have to wake Yukhei up. But the truth is also that he wanted to because he misses him.

“Oh,” Yukhei says back simply. He’s too tired to think of anything else to say.

His tone is downright adorable right now and Jungwoo finds himself poking out his bottom lip just listening to him talk. Yukhei’s voice, usually so deep and full, is light and airy right now. Jungwoo can hear the effort he’s putting into speaking when he wants nothing more than to go back to bed. Deeply, he appreciates Yukhei’s effort.

Settling into bed, Jungwoo pulls the blanket over himself and says again, “Sorry I woke you up.”

There’s a pause on Yukhei’s end. A few extra seconds that has Jungwoo thinking he fell asleep for real this time. But then Yukhei responds slowly, “It’s okay, I…”

His voice trails off and Jungwoo squints at the absence of words. But then he smiles, knowing Yukhei lost his train of thought. Gently, he prompts, “You, what, baby?”

“I don’t know,” Yukhei mumbles back innocently. He sighs, then yawns, then sighs again. Jungwoo closes his eyes and tells himself it’s time to hang up now. Yukhei is clearly in no condition to have a conversation with anyway.

Jungwoo presses his lips into a straight line before he says, “I’ll let you go back to sleep, okay? You’re too tired.”

And Yukhei, very polite when only half-awake, says, “Thank you, hyung.”

It makes Jungwoo giggle a little. He tells Yukhei he’s welcome but Jungwoo is the only one out of the two that catches the sarcasm. That’s when Jungwoo knows it’s truly time to hang up. Keeping his boyfriend awake like this has to be some sort of softcore torture that he already feels guilty about.

Jungwoo turns the lamp beside his bed off as he’s saying into his phone, “Goodnight, baby. Sleep well.”

Yukhei’s quicker to respond this time. But his words are still as slurred and sluggish when he responds shortly, “G’night.”

“I love you,” Jungwoo tells him.

“I love you too, babe.”

Jungwoo makes sure to instruct Yukhei to hang up first, just to ensure he doesn’t accidentally leave his phone lit up all night and kill the battery. When Jungwoo’s screen displays the call has ended and falls dark, he feels more content. Almost instantly his eyelids are heavy and his heart rate begins to slow. He thinks maybe the last part of their conversation was all he really needed.

Minutes later, both Jungwoo and Yukhei are sound asleep.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Yukhei and Jungwoo only miss each other’s games when they have a game that day of their own. Truthfully, it doesn’t happen all too often. Yukhei’s game schedule is more or less set in stone for Saturday and Tuesday. Until they’re in the playoffs, that is. Jungwoo’s games, however, vary more often. So every once in a while, Jungwoo has a game the same day as Yukhei.

It might be all in their heads, but they never feel they play quite as well without the other in the stands. Not drastically enough that they’re totally off their game or anything, but there’s a slightly noticeable difference that maybe only they notice. So even if they win, when they tell each other, “Woulda been better if you were there,” there’s honest truth to it.

No matter how many years he’s been playing or how many games they are into the season, Jungwoo always gets nervous before a game. Some games he’s more collected than others and can shake off the feeling during their warm-up run around the field. But days like today, when this game will affect their ability to get closer to the playoffs, he gets very nervous. _Very_.

Jungwoo’s team is on a ten-minute break before their second round of warm-ups and he finds himself wandering away from the group just to compose himself. With his hands on his hips, he walks in arbitrary, circle-like patterns, just trying to get his head on straight.

Toward the west side of the field, there are two rather large bushes that Jungwoo thinks would be perfect to sit behind just to be alone for a while. He’s swift with the way he detaches himself from his team and ducks behind the bushes. He plants himself on the grass, brings his knees up to his chest, and rests his head.

He knows he only has a few minutes before someone from his team comes looking for him. It’s inevitable. Someone’s _always_ looking for him. So in the time he has, he tries to think of what Yukhei would tell him. He’s mastered the art of knowing just what to say to calm Jungwoo down. And even if he isn’t saying the right thing, just the sound of his voice usually does the trick.

Jungwoo closes his eyes and tries to imagine Yukhei—

“There you are!”

Jungwoo’s eyes snap open and he jumps. It’s one of his freshman teammates looking down at him like he’s struck gold. His mouth is open wide and his eyebrows are raised in an accomplished, surprised kind of way. He’s pointing at Jungwoo like he’s an animal at the zoo.

Obnoxiously, the freshman yells back toward the group, “He’s over here!” Then he crouches down beside Jungwoo and asks him curiously, “What’re you doing over here?”

“I’m, uh…” Jungwoo starts rather aimlessly, his heart is having trouble returning to a normal speed. He runs his hands through his hair to calm himself and then asks, “What’re _you_ doing here? What do you want?”

Jungwoo doesn’t even notice his teammate is holding his phone in his hand until he says, “Your phone’s been ringing like mad and they told me I should give it to you.”

He’s quick to hand the phone over to Jungwoo, and Jungwoo is quick to shoo his teammate away. Just as he’s finally alone again, Jungwoo’s phone begins to vibrate. A picture of Yukhei displaying itself on his screen along with his name and maybe too many hearts to follow.

“Hello?”

“Babe! There you are!” Yukhei’s voice is loud and full of pre-game excitement in Jungwoo’s ear. It’s noisy where he is, much louder than the atmosphere of Jungwoo’s game. He can only imagine the number of people that showed up for Yukhei’s game today. It’s a home game and two more wins clinch their playoff spot. Today’s game is a big deal just like Jungwoo’s.

Before Jungwoo has a chance to respond, Yukhei’s saying, “I’ve called you like three thousand times. Thought maybe I missed you before your game started.”

The smile that forms on Jungwoo’s face is instant. The relief he feels is too. Yukhei’s always had that effect on him. Even in the very beginning when they started dating. Everything just felt like it was going to be okay when he was around.

“We were warming up I didn’t have my phone, sorry,” Jungwoo explains. Behind him, he hears a loud, familiar whistle blow. He peeks behind him and watches his teammates gathering around their coach. Jungwoo sighs.

Reluctantly, Jungwoo says, “I have to go.”

But Yukhei, as always, is understanding. Truthfully, he’s been ignoring his teammates hurrying him on his end.

He tells Jungwoo, “That’s okay. Good luck, babe. Don’t be nervous, okay? You’re gonna kick ass like always.”

“Not nervous,” Jungwoo says.

“You’re a terrible liar, Jungwoo.”

Smiling, Jungwoo bites the inside of his lip and tells Yukhei as he’s standing up, “I’m serious. I’m not that nervous anymore.”

“So you were nervous?” Yukhei asks with playful suspicion. In the background, Jungwoo hears Yukhei’s coach calling for him to get off the phone. Yukhei pretends he doesn’t hear it though.

As Jungwoo is brushing the dirt off his shorts he says, “I hear your coach.”

“The whole stadium hears my coach,” Yukhei mumbles back; Jungwoo can picture the way he’s rolling his eyes just slightly. Right now he knows Yukhei is strategically angling himself away from his coach so he can continue to play innocent for a few more moments.

There are more whistles blowing in the background of Yukhei and then the announcer of the game on the loudspeaker. The announcer welcomes the crowd to the game and strategically mentions Yukhei’s name to make them all cheer. Jungwoo smiles; he loves the support Yukhei gets.

Jungwoo is beginning to walk back toward his team now. They don’t want to, but they both know they need to hang up soon.

“Have a good game, baby,” Jungwoo says, reluctant to make the first move. He kicks at the grass under his foot as he hears Yukhei sigh.

“Thanks. You too, babe.” Jungwoo can feel his boyfriend pouting from two provinces away. It makes him smile, being able to imagine the cute expression on his face. That expression is Jungwoo’s weakness. He gives in way too easily to that pout.

Jungwoo’s eyes expand a little as he says suddenly, “And, hey! At least two touchdowns from you, okay, superstar?”

On the other end, Yukhei’s eyebrow raises. They do this all the time. Challenge each other to do great. Set a number for the other to try to achieve. It motivates them, especially when they’re apart. Each time they score feels dedicated to each other.

Yukhei chuckles just slightly and replies with, “Then no less than two goals from you.”

“Deal,” Jungwoo replies just as his coach is yelling for him to _please for the love of god put the damn phone down and focus_. He listens this time; tells Yukhei he has to go for real and promises to call him as soon as the game is over.

When Jungwoo hangs up the phone he doesn’t feel nervous anymore at all. Not even in the slightest. The Yukhei effect, he supposes.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Jungwoo’s team wins 4-3. Three goals by Jungwoo alone.

Yukhei’s team wins 27-14. Two touchdowns by Yukhei.

Both teams are a step closer to entering the playoffs. And both teams’ star players are out-doing themselves each time.

Jungwoo can hardly wait to tell Yukhei he beat his challenge. He’s extra cute when he’s jealous.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

A lot of people think, for only dating for less than a year, the two of them are moving pretty quickly. The rumor mill always comes back to them and they hear the latest critiques about their relationship from whoever cares a little too much to comment.

University gossip, sure. But it gets tough when it seems every person on campus wants to give their two cents about their relationship. The two of them are campus celebrities as it is. So two campus celebrities _together_ is just a goldmine for those who prefer to spend their time minding other people’s business rather than their own. Luckily, Yukhei’s never cared what people think. And Jungwoo, well, he was quick to follow Yukhei’s lead in this situation.

They’ve only run into minimal adversity being two guys publically dating each other. The modern world still isn’t quite as accepting as the Internet claims it to be, but for the most part, their campus was impressively accepting. They’ve received their fair share of disapproving, judgemental looks from students on campus and strangers at restaurants. Luckily, the good experiences outweigh the bad by a long shot.

Jungwoo’s teammates are the most supportive and have been ever since Jungwoo has decided to stop hiding that he likes boys. He’s never exactly came out, but he doesn’t feel the need to. Straight people don’t have to declare to the world who they like, so why should he? He prefers to let people find out on their own and if they have a problem with it, well, that’s their problem and not his.

But his teammates, from the start, have been nothing but kind to him. If it weren’t for their constant nagging at Jungwoo to talk to Yukhei, they might’ve never gotten together. Jungwoo’s never told them this because they’d never shut up about it, but he has them to thank for his relationship.

Yukhei’s teammates didn’t ostracize, but they weren’t as immediately accepting as Jungwoo’s team. Jungwoo remembers vividly in the beginning stages of their relationship when he’d walk Yukhei to practice holding hands, the not-so-subtle looks they’d get from his team. And from his coach. Yukhei’s got tougher skin than Jungwoo does sometimes, and he would just hold Jungwoo’s hand tighter. He’d damn near have starting matches with anyone who dared to show their judgment on their face.

The truth is Yukhei’s not a fighter, but he’s got the reputation of a typical jock that he knows to use to his advantage. He’s a gentle giant, but only certain people get to know that side of him for real. Most people on campus know him just as an athlete, or as a party animal. But Jungwoo knows him better than that. He knows him deeper than that.

Things are different now, months later, and Jungwoo finds himself being the one to comfort Yukhei when they get less-than-accepting stares from strangers. Or if a dickhead older teammate of Yukhei’s makes an insensitive joke. That’s the way the two of them work best: picking up where the other is lacking. Being stronger when the other is falling weak.

They’re a good team.

And if it’s them versus the rest of the world, then so be it. They’ve got a winning record anyway.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

“Where’s somewhere you’ve always wanted to travel?” Yukhei asks with his chin on Jungwoo’s chest, looking up at him. Jungwoo’s left hand is carding through Yukhei’s hair while his other hand is being used to scroll mindlessly through his social media. He puts the phone down and locks it.

Twitter’s boring. Snapchat’s boring. Instagram’s boring. Yukhei’s interesting.

Thinking, Jungwoo’s eyes drift upward to the ceiling. They spend a lot of time in the quiet. Just the two of them. No television, no music, no distractions. It’s a nice balance with how loud and hectic their world is most of the time. So in the relative silence, Yukhei can hear Jungwoo’s rhythmic breathing as his mind filters through places around the world.

“Mexico?” Jungwoo says, but it’s more like a question. His eyes fall back onto Yukhei who’s looking at him with a satisfied expression, nodding just a bit with his bottom lip poking out. More solidly, Jungwoo says, “Yeah, Mexico.”

Yukhei’s hands, much bigger than Jungwoo’s, touch somewhat aimlessly at his side. They’re both shirtless, both warm to the touch, and keep pulling each other closer. Yukhei’s fingers dance over Jungwoo’s ribs, one by one like he’s counting them, and then return themselves to the dip in his side.

“Why Mexico?” Yukhei questions gently. He adjusts himself momentarily to pepper kisses to Jungwoo’s chest just because. It’s an instant reaction the way Jungwoo’s eyes flutter shut. Yukhei’s lips are gone a second later and when Jungwoo opens his eyes he’s greeted with Yukhei’s curious ones, waiting for him to answer.

Laughing a bit, Jungwoo shrugs. He’s always thought Mexico was beautiful. From the pictures he’s seen, at least. The water always looks unreal— so clear and blue. Easily, he can picture him and Yukhei on a beach somewhere there. Or playing in the ocean. Or kissing on some hammock. The perfect getaway spot for the two of them.

“Just...seems relaxing. Seems pretty,” Jungwoo answers. “It looks nothing like it does here. The perfect change of scenery for us.”

“Us?” Yukhei asks with his eyebrows raised high and his eyes expanding even wider than usual. He squints at Jungwoo like he’s trying to use his mental lie detector, and then smiles. He adjusts himself on top of Jungwoo, supporting more of his own weight so he can properly look him in the eye. The bed dips and Jungwoo slides into Yukhei’s arm.

Smiling, Jungwoon simply nods.

Yukhei blinks and says, “Really?”

Jungwoo feels his cheeks burning a bit as he covers his face for a moment. He says, “Isn’t that why you were asking? Places we should go together?”

“No,” Yukhei tells him truthfully. He leans himself down in a half-pushup to kiss at Jungwoo’s collarbone. He says, breath ghosting over Jungwoo’s skin, “But now I am.”

There are soft hands back in Yukhei’s hair, pulling him down and angling his lips to meet Jungwoo. He closes his eyes and lets Jungwoo guide their kiss. Obedient, he opens his mouth when Jungwoo’s tongue wants to enter and lets him. His jaw goes slack, letting Jungwoo’s tongue roam wherever it pleases. Slowly, like he’s melting, Yukhei lowers himself back onto Jungwoo until they’re chest to chest again.

Perfectly aligned now, Yukhei drops his head to kiss Jungwoo again. Soft, almost innocent kisses that quickly turn into teasing. Yukhei’s lips are bigger than Jungwoo’s and Jungwoo loves the overwhelming feeling he gets while kissing him sometimes. They name places between kisses and gasps for air.

“Tokyo,” Jungwoo whispers against Yukhei’s lips.

“New York,” Yukhei says back smiling, chasing Jungwoo’s mouth for another kiss. His chest is rising and falling quickly. He’s so easily worked up, Jungwoo can feel him repositioning his legs so he can straddle Jungwoo. Just to watch his reaction, Jungwoo bucks his hips up into Yukhei. He moans sweetly and Jungwoo can’t resist doing it again.

Brushing Yukhei’s hair out of his face, Jungwoo suggests, “Sydney.”

Yukhei turns his head and kisses sloppily at Jungwoo’s neck. His pulse is picking up speed against Yukhei’s lips. With his mouth smearing his words across Jungwoo’s sensitive skin, Yukhei says, “Paris.”

Jungwoo’s fingers take hold of Yukhei’s face again. Getting his attention, Jungwoo’s thumbs pet slowly at both sides of Yukhei’s jawline as he studies him. His boyfriend is beautiful. So, so beautiful and his mind is still trying to wrap itself around the fact that he can do _this_ with _him_ whenever he wants. Jungwoo feels like he’s won the life lottery. Yukhei’s his grand prize.

“Denmark... Los Angeles... Egypt... Finland... Brazil…,” Jungwoo names places between quick, staccato-like kisses, holding Yukhei still and happily at his mercy. Jungwoo kisses Yukhei’s cheeks and the bridge of his nose and his forehead. He plants his lips all over Yukhei’s face, just to make him laugh.

They both breakaway smiling and out of breath; hair a bit messy and hearts pounding. Jungwoo’s face is a rose color like he’s been drinking and Yukhei finds himself thinking about how much he loves the flustered look on his boyfriend.

Sitting back, resting himself on Jungwoo’s lower stomach, Yukhei says, “Guess we’re going everywhere, huh? Babe, we’re gonna need a lot of mon—“

“Yes, everywhere,” Jungwoo replies, cutting Yukhei off, and sitting up so he can kiss him again. His arm wraps around Yukhei’s back to keep him upright and positioned in Jungwoo’s lap.

They can’t stop themselves from smiling as Jungwoo tells Yukhei, “Anywhere. I’d go anywhere with you.”

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Yukhei asks Jungwoo one day, rather randomly, how many children he’d like to have. It was after they had watched a compilation of vine videos featuring, as the title had named them, _the funniest babies on Earth_. So the question seemed right on topic and justified.

For a while Jungwoo is quiet. He looks Yukhei in the eyes for a few moments, chewing on the inside of his lip like he does when he’s thinking. And then settles on, almost half-heartedly, “Anything over two seems like a handful.”

Yukhei laughs, doesn’t completely answer, and rests his head back on Jungwoo’s shoulder.

“Why?” Jungwoo asks, scrolling through videos.

Yukhei shrugs. He answers, “No reason, just asking.”

Jungwoo doesn’t reply, he lets the conversation fade away into nothing. The next series of videos they watch are about dogs doing unbelievable tricks. But Yukhei’s not paying attention much.

His mind wanders imagining him and Jungwoo— and no more than two kids— on their traveling journey to everywhere and anywhere.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Just like any relationship, it’s not all perfect. They fight sometimes. Big fights, little fights, petty fights. Not very often, but they do fight.

Most of the time, their fights are about them being apart. Not that either of them can control it much; which just makes them more frustrated. And that, in turn, makes them argue.

Especially when they haven’t seen each other in a day or two already, and Yukhei chooses to spend his free time at some dorm party with his teammates rather than with Jungwoo. Neither of them is the toxic, controlling type of boyfriends that hate when the other is with their friends. But sometimes Jungwoo doesn’t understand Yukhei’s train of thought how spending even _more_ time with his friends can somehow trump spending time with his boyfriend.

Jungwoo’s said this before, but he doesn’t like Yukhei’s teammates much. They’re older and push him into making bad decisions. They aide him in doing stupid things. They’ve all had the cops called on them more than a handful of times, and the only reason why none of them ever got in real trouble is that they’re the team’s starters and their town cares more about football than anything else.

“You need new friends,” Jungwoo had told him angrily one night after using the last bit of his paycheck for gas money to come pick Yukhei up from the middle of nowhere. His bonehead teammates thought it would be a good idea to party at a university about an hour away. They all got rides back and somehow forgot to make sure Yukhei was in one of the cars that drove them home. Typical.

Yukhei had called Jungwoo at two-thirty in the morning, half-crying, fully drunk, wanting him to come find him. He wasn’t hard to find, once Jungwoo got him to understand that if he shared his location with him in their messages, he’d be able to know exactly where he was. Technology comes in handy sometimes.

An hour later, Jungwoo had found him on the side of the highway after he tried to walk himself home. Again, stupid decisions.

Yukhei had rolled his eyes. “No, I don’t.”

“You need _better_ friends,” Jungwoo had corrected himself to angrily. They both stood on the side of the road, facing each other with their arms crossed. Jungwoo had left his car running and his headlights lit the ground under the two of them. He had told Yukhei, “Ones that don’t leave you in the middle of fucking nowhere and expect you to fend for yourself.”

“I _can_ fend for myself!” Yukhei had said back, voice raising.

Jungwoo had huffed and rolled his eyes. They don’t yell at each other often at all, so the sudden decibel change in Yukhei’s voice caught Jungwoo by a bit of a surprise.

There was venom wrapped up in Jungwoo’s tone when he responded with, “That’s why you called me crying then, huh? Because you can take care of yourself, right?! That's a joke.”

It was as if the air between them went colder. The tension instantly rose and the only thing Jungwoo could hear was his heartbeat slamming in his ears. Yukhei was quiet for a long, long time.

When he spoke again, his voice was scarily slow. Deeper than usual, and Jungwoo could see the physical self-restraint he was trying hard to have. At his sides, Yukhei clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to calm down. He wasn’t going to hit him, Jungwoo knew that, because Yukhei always does that when he’s angry. But that told Jungwoo clearly that he struck a nerve in Yukhei.

Yukhei’s eyes narrowed. Through his teeth, he had told Jungwoo sternly, “I don’t need you to fucking rescue me.”

“Then go if you don’t need me!” Jungwoo had yelled back instantly, gesturing almost wildly at the darkness, shooing Yukhei away. “Leave!”

He wasn’t thinking before he spoke and immediately regretted it. The expression on Yukhei’s face dropped to a stunned, pained one. Within a blink of an eye, it was gone and his face changed to a calm one. But too calm to be real. The type of calm that someone gets when they’re too angry.

That’s the problem with fighting: at the moment, all you want to do is hurt the person’s feelings. You want to hurt them more than they’ve hurt you. Jungwoo wished he could take it back the second after the sentence left his lips.

Yukhei’s breath caught in his chest. And for a moment, his brain couldn’t remember how to breathe properly at all. He clenched his jaw and his nose twitched in anger. He wanted to say something back, he wanted to scream something back but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

Instead, he mumbled back a “Fine,” and headed down the side of the road on foot.

Jungwoo had almost let him go. Almost.

He stood in front of his car and watched Yukhei walk away for exactly two minutes and twenty-six seconds before he went running after him. Something in his mind suddenly switched and the only thoughts in his head were ones that told him he’d be absolutely stupid if he let Yukhei walk away.

So Jungwoo took off running. He didn’t care about leaving his car or the keys he had in the ignition. The only thing he cared about was getting Yukhei in his passenger seat and driving him home.

“Yukhei!” Jungwoo had called, running after him. “Yukhei, wait!”

With Yukhei walking and Jungwoo running, he caught up to him rather quickly. Jungwoo had reached out and wrapped his fingers around Yukhei’s wrist to stop him. Yukhei only resisted for a moment, trying to shake his wrist loose before he gave up. He allowed Jungwoo to step in front of him, blocking his way.

Before Yukhei had a chance to speak, Jungwoo had said, “I’m sorry.”

It was the middle of the night, completely dark, but Yukhei could make out the tears in Jungwoo’s eyes. They reminded him of the stars in the sky.

Jungwoo had his hands up, flat against Yukhei’s chest, trying to keep him from walking away. Slowly, his fingers dropped from Yukhei’s chest to his wrists again.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry,” Jungwoo had said again. His hand slid down from Yukhei’s wrists to his hands. Hesitantly, Jungwoo froze. He stared at Yukhei wide-eyed and panting, not sure if Yukhei would reciprocate at all.

Yukhei had taken in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Cars had zoomed past them, the street way too busy for almost three in the morning. Slowly, Yukhei opened his hands and interlocked his fingers with Jungwoo.

“I’m sorry,” Jungwoo had apologized again, shaking his head back and forth, looking up into Yukhei’s eyes. He had tugged on Yukhei’s hands, trying to get him to come closer or to speak at all.

Seconds passed like years— like _lifetimes_ — before Yukhei finally responded.

With his bottom lip quivering, Yukhei had whispered back, “I’m sorry, too. For everything.”

Jungwoo could’ve fallen to the ground with how relieved he felt. That saying about weight being lifted off of shoulders in times of great alleviation is true. Suddenly, he felt like he was floating. Like he could pick Yukhei up with his newly sprouted wings and fly them both home safely.

The first one to pull the other into a hug was Yukhei. He pulled at the back of Jungwoo’s jacket until he was enclosed in his arms. They hugged for a long while, whispering their apologies and petting the back of each other’s hair. Jungwoo imagined the two of them were quite a sight on the side of the road for those who passed by them.

“It’s freezing out here,” Jungwoo had observed, pulling back from the hug enough to speak properly. For the first time, he had noticed the cloud of smoke drifting from his mouth when he spoke. The temperature had dropped quickly and the two of them were shaking in each other’s arms.

Nodding, Yukhei had asked, “Can we go home?”

Jungwoo pushed himself just slightly on his tiptoes so his lips could reach Yukhei’s lips. He told him when the kiss had subsided, “Of course we can.”

And so they did. They walked hand in hand back to Jungwoo’s car.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

That was the closest they’ve ever gotten to breaking up. It was silently decided between the two of them, right there that night, that it was something they never wanted to experience again. That was painful enough, they couldn't imagine the real thing. 

They never want to.

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

“If you ever need me,” Jungwoo had said on the ride home somewhat out of the blue, “just call me okay? I didn’t mean what I said. I’ll always be there.”

Yukhei had placed his hand on Jungwoo’s thigh and told him, “You’re the only person I’d ever call.”

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Academic proficiency is a required condition to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports. At least, that’s what both Jungwoo and Yukhei’s contracts with their coaches say. All athletes sign them at the beginning of each pre-season and are bound to keep at least a 2.5 GPA throughout the school year.

It’s not exactly challenging, but attendance also plays a factor. And sometimes, the two of them just don’t want to go to class. Plain and simple. Usually, the looming presence of their contracts hangs over their heads and guilts them into going to class in a timely manner as well as being present in all practices and fundraisers.

But sometimes, when they both have classes they won’t regret skipping, they do. For the whole day, they skip their classes and just enjoy each other’s company.

Staying in Jungwoo’s dorm is always an option; because if they’re going to skip they can’t be seen. Both of their coaches roam the campus like watchdogs, scoping for any of their players that might be doing exactly what the two of them are: playing hooky.

Going far off campus is usually their best bet, though. They like to go to the park uptown when it’s still morning time to enjoy the cool air and the birds singing. Little things they don’t have time to take notice of because they’re always in some classroom or on a field somewhere. It’s nice to slow down and take in being human.

Typically, for a random weekday late-morning, they’re the only ones in the park. And that’s just how they like it. Despite the few joggers that pass them and the mothers with their children still in strollers, they more or less have the park to themselves.

They walk hand-in-hand down the center of the cemented path, playfully kicking at the pale pink and bright yellow petals that have fallen from the trees. Down both sides are dark green benches with flower patches and bushes in between. And when they look up, the skyline is nothing but healthy trees overlapping each other and the clear blue sky. Their own heaven on Earth.

About a mile in, there’s a playground they always stop at. It sounds silly, but taking time to do something as innocent as play around on a playground for an hour heals them so much. The lack of expectation and worry they feel within that time period is more helpful than they can explain.

Jungwoo pushes Yukhei on the swinging bench for a while. Yukhei keeps telling him to join beside him; he promises he’d be able to keep the two of them swaying by himself, but Jungwoo likes pushing him. Maybe it’s the natural nurturer in him, but Jungwoo likes taking care of people.

Eventually, though, Jungwoo does join Yukhei. They sit pressed against each other, looking out at a world that looks like it’s been wiped of all civilization.

Turns out, it’s pretty peaceful being the only two people on the planet.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Truthfully, it’s a bit too chilly for ice cream but there’s a truck selling it and who are they to say no.

Yukhei buys himself a chocolate and vanilla swirl and gets Jungwoo plain vanilla with sprinkles. He comes back with both cones in his hand, a proud smile on his face, and hands one off to Jungwoo.

They’re seated under a tree now, shoulder to shoulder, watching the birds fly overhead. Yukhei’s always been fascinated by the formations they flew in and wondered if it’s something they did instinctually or something they’re taught.

“Now _that’s_ a good defensive line,” Yukhei says, gesturing upward to the birds soaring toward a cable wire.

Playfully, Jungwoo rolls his eyes. He asks, “Do you ever think about anything other than football?”

Yukhei shrugs. “Sometimes when I’m bored I think about you.”

Jungwoo’s response is a shove to his shoulder that has Yukhei yelping about almost dropping his ice cream.

“Serves you right,” Jungwoo tells him with a smile.

Yukhei dips his finger into his ice cream and smears it against Jungwoo’s cheek as retaliation. Jungwoo’s eyes expand and his mouth drops open. Yukhei can see the way his shoulders raise at the sudden coldness. When he looks back at Yukhei, his eyes are animatedly narrowed.

“You—“

Yukhei brings his lips to it a moment later, kissing it off devilishly. He’s giggling as he’s licking his lips. Jungwoo pretends to be annoyed with him, but he can’t hide the smile that breaks his faux anger expression.

Jungwoo leans his head to the side, lips parting as an invitation Yukhei wouldn’t dare to pass up and kisses him properly.

And just like that, all is forgiven.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Yukhei learned Jungwoo was a lightweight when it came to drinking rather early in their relationship. They had gone to a campus party together, all of Yukhei’s teammates were there, and they were handing out shots.

Eagerly, Yukhei had taken two. When he had found Jungwoo again, he was leaning over the counter in the kitchen and mumbling something about his head spinning.

Confused, Yukhei had said slowly, “Babe, you only had two beers.”

Jungwoo groaning was his only response.

Sympathetically, Yukhei had put down the shots to rub Jungwoo’s back. He only left long enough for him to fetch Jungwoo some ice water and urged him to take a few sips.

Despite his boyfriend’s suffering, Yukhei had said with a muffled laugh, “Really, babe?”

“Shut up.”

“Two beers? That’s your limit?”

Disappointedly, Yukhei’s eyebrows arched upward.

“I said shut up,” Jungwoo mumbled back weakly.

Letting out a deep breath, Yukhei had said, “So I guess you don’t want your shot?”

Jungwoo couldn’t wait for the world to stop tilting so he could punch Yukhei in his pretty mouth.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Nowadays, when Jungwoo goes to a party he nurses exactly one beer the entire night. A half of beer is usually enough for Jungwoo to lose the initial shyness he has and allows him to socialize more easily throughout the night. And by three-fourths of his beer gone, he’s dancing and singing way off-tune to the throwback songs they play.

He might be a lightweight, but he’s a lightweight that knows how to party.

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

As cliche as it sounds, the two of them meet behind the bleachers before games and practices. Sometimes to make out, sometimes just to talk. It’s become common ground between Yukhei’s field and Jungwoo’s. And with it being so strategically placed between their outside locker rooms, it was easy for them to accidentally-on-purpose meet each other there.

“You look cute in my shirt,” Yukhei says to Jungwoo, grinning almost dumbly as he tugs gently on the fabric. “I was wondering where that went.”

The shirt is a white, long sleeve one that has “HONG KONG” written in navy blue, uppercase letters on the front. It was actually the shirt Yukhei was wearing when Jungwoo first struck up enough nerve to talk to him. And when he had found it laying haphazardly on Yukhei’s floor one day, he took it upon himself to take good care of it. Besides, it’s a memento now. It’s special.

It’s not a test, but Jungwoo asks curiously, “Do you remember this shirt?”

“Wasn’t I wearing it the first day we met?” Yukhei answers. He squints his eyes and feels the material like it’s going to confirm or deny his answer. But he’s positive when he follows up with, “We went for sushi.”

Yukhei’s got a good memory for these things, it’s the hopeless romantic in him, so Jungwoo isn’t surprised that he remembers. But it does make him beam from ear to ear up at his boyfriend.

Snaking his hand around Yukhei’s waist, Jungwoo pulls him closer.  There isn’t much to their height difference now, but Yukhei keeps shooting up like a beanstalk and Jungwoo is worried he’ll have to use a ladder to kiss him in a few months.

Their lips connect slowly and the world around them begins to melt away. The bag Yukhei was holding in his hand slips to the grass and he replaces the grip with the back of Jungwoo’s shirt.

Both of them know they only have a few minutes before they have to part. Their practices start at the same time, on opposite ends of the shared, open land. And it would only be a matter of time before a teammate or a coach come to bring them to their respective areas.

Jungwoo’s lips are soft, like mini-clouds, and Yukhei finds himself getting lost in them everytime they kiss. Something about Jungwoo is so inviting, so welcoming, that Yukhei wishes he could hide away with him forever.

For three long, long minutes, they kiss. And they cherish all ninety seconds of it. But soon enough Yukhei’s coach is screaming his name and Jungwoo’s coach is blowing his whistle. Reluctantly, the two of them separate.

“That’s enough, lovebirds!” Jungwoo’s teammates call to them as they pass by the bleachers.

Embarrassed, Jungwoo covers his face in Yukhei’s shoulder. Comfortingly, Yukhei runs his fingers down the nape of Jungwoo’s neck. He’s got a smug look on his face, knowing most of their teammates have had to pull them off of each other more than a handful of times.

Eventually, Jungwoo yells back with a smile, “Okay, I’m coming!”

Yukhei leans to the side to receive his bag. Before going his own way, Yukhei cups Jungwoo’s chin and steals two kisses before he says, “I’ll see you after practice, babe.”

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

 

Yukhei’s had the spare key to Jungwoo’s room since a few weeks into their relationship. Not once has Jungwoo second guessed giving it to him, and loves how comfortable it is when Yukhei lets himself in and tosses his practice gear on the floor like it’s his living space too. At this point, it basically is. Yukhei is here more than he’s at his dorm.

It’s routine, it’s domestic, and it makes Jungwoo want to buy a house with Yukhei somewhere so they can do this for the rest of their lives.

“How was practice?” Jungwoo asks, glancing up from his computer. He’s been working on a research paper for hours and only has about three hundred words written. It’s mostly because he finds the topic boring. If his subject was his boyfriend, he’d been done weeks ago.

Yukhei sighs as he pushes off his sneakers and rids himself of his hoodie. He tosses it on top of the dirty clothes pile Jungwoo’s already got going. Jungwoo notices him wince a little as he does, he’s still sore from practice.

Half-mumbling, Yukhei says, “I missed you,” instead of answering. He crosses Jungwoo’s carpeted floor and kisses him. Yukhei’s hand massages Jungwoo’s shoulder for a moment before his eyes drift to his computer screen.

“What’re you doing?” he asks. Yukhei takes a step back to pull his undershirt over his head too, leaving the top half of his body bare.

“I’m writing—“ Jungwoo’s stops short when he looks over his shoulder and is greeted by Yukhei’s abs. Jungwoo’s eyes slowly roam upward to Yukhei’s chest, and eventually, _eventually_ , back to his face. There’s a smug grin Yukhei’s wearing on his face and he raises an eyebrow in Jungwoo’s lack of response.

Jungwoo clears his throat, his train of thought crashing back, “—a research paper on evolution, it’s uh….boring.”

“Sounds boring,” Yukhei responds. He’s crouching in front of his practice duffle bag now, rummaging for a towel probably. Jungwoo watches the muscles in his shoulders flex a little when he reaches his arm out to zip the bag. Yukhei stands, takes two steps to his left to open one of Jungwoo’s drawers that now belong to him, and fishes for something else.

Jungwoo turns back around, forces himself to focus on the words he’s trying to type and not his gorgeous, half-naked boyfriend roaming his room. It’s wild that after months and months, he’s still not used to this.

Just as Jungwoo’s fake typing was beginning to turn into real typing, Yukhei stops in the doorway of the bathroom and says, “Are you coming?”

Blinking, Jungwoo looks up at Yukhei. He’s got a towel slung over his shoulder and he’s only in his boxers now. Teasingly, he’s messing his own hair up by sweeping his fingers through his bangs. When Jungwoo takes more than a second to answer Yukhei says, “Y’know, to save water or whatever.”

It makes Jungwoo laugh. He says back with playful reluctance, “I guess if it’s for the environment…” but he’s reaching out to catch Yukhei’s lips with his before he’s even halfway through with his sentence.

Jungwoo’s hands find a home on Yukhei’s bare waist and walk him backward into the bathroom. There’s a change from warm carpet to cool tile against their feet that has them hurrying toward the shower to warm them up. Yukhei’s groaning when Jungwoo pulls away so he can find the knob to turn on the shower.

Taking that has an opportunity, Yukhei spins Jungwoo around and pins him against the sink. He lifts Jungwoo up, has him sit on the edge of the counter, and slots himself between Jungwoo’s legs to keep him balanced.

“Take this off,” Yukhei says, pulling at the hem of Jungwoo’s shirt and kissing his neck. Jungwoo raises his chin, giving Yukhei more room to work. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, pulling Yukhei closer to him.

Jungwoo’s fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt and pulls it off of his body. He tosses it to the floor and immediately goes to rid himself of his pants. Yukhei takes a step back and holds him by the waist to keep balanced as Jungwoo shimmies himself out of his pajama bottoms and his boxers.

When Yukhei goes to move back in, Jungwoo holds his hand out to stop him. He gestures to the lower half of his body, shakes his head, and slowly slides his hand down Yukhei’s midsection. Jungwoo’s hand travels lower and lower until his hand is cupping Yukhei through his boxers. Yukhei’s teeth bite at his bottom lip and his eyes close for a moment.

“Should I take these off?” Jungwoo asks teasingly, moving his hand in a rubbing motion. His voice is quiet, but there’s a darkness to it now that isn’t usually there. There’s a teasing nature to the way he’s speaking because he knows how easily he makes Yukhei fall apart.

With his bangs sweeping tapping against his forehead, Yukhei nods.

“Can’t hear you,” Jungwoo tells him. He’s using his other hand now too, his fingers roaming all over Yukhei, making it much more difficult for him to pull himself together to speak.

The mirror behind Jungwoo is starting to fog and there’s steam forming toward the ceiling of the bathroom. But it’s nothing compared to the heat between the two of them when Jungwoo leans forward to press slow kisses to Yukhei’s collarbone. Weakly, Yukhei’s head falls forward, his chin resting near the crown of Jungwoo’s head.

His hand is still working on Yukhei when Jungwoo hears him whisper, barely audible over the sound of splattering water, “Jungwoo, please.”

Almost immediately, Jungwoo slides Yukhei’s boxers off of his waist and down his legs. Jungwoo pulls back and says, rather simply, “Only because you asked nicely.”

Lifting his head, Jungwoo’s eyes meet Yukhei’s and his lips part just a bit, silently asking for a kiss. Yukhei’s quick to give him what wants. His hands, much bigger than Jungwoo’s, take gentle hold of the side of Jungwoo’s face. His thumb pets at Jungwoo’s cheekbone while they kiss.

Eventually, when the steam has completely fogged up the mirror, Jungwoo says, “Come on,” and removes himself from the counter.

He holds his hand out for Yukhei to take and walks them both toward the running shower. Quickly, Jungwoo adjusts the water one more time before guiding them both inside.

The shower starts off innocently enough. Jungwoo uses the soap-lathered washcloth to wash Yukhei’s back when he turns around to face the water.

Amused, Jungwoo watches Yukhei dunk his head under the stream of water to rinse out the final traces of shampoo that’s in it. Dramatically, he pulls back and sprays water all over Jungwoo’s face. He laughs, the actions clearly intentional, and ducks out of the way when Jungwoo throws the washcloth at him.

“Good thing you don’t play baseball,” Yukhei teases, reaching over to pick up the cloth that missed him by a mile. “They’d kick you off the team.”

Jungwoo shuts him up by reconnecting their lips. He talks too much anyway. Jungwoo’s favorite chatterbox; all he does is talk, talk, talk. Jungwoo knows it probably should annoy him, but truthfully he’s never sick of hearing his voice. Especially since Yukhei is always so eager about _everything_ , just listening to Yukhei enthusiastically tell a story about him walking to class makes Jungwoo smile.

They only stop kissing long enough for them to switch positions. It’s Yukhei’s turn to wash Jungwoo. He’s always so careful with him; intentionally mindful of how much strength he uses when he does things. Not that Yukhei is the Incredible Hulk or anything, but sometimes he gets too excited and forgets just how strong his muscles are. Especially since he spends most of his time with his teammates, and the only way they show affection to each other is play fighting.

But with Jungwoo he’s always intentionally aware, and he’s only rough with him when he asks him to. So he moves the washcloth in circles against Jungwoo’s skin. He runs it down his arms, then over his lower stomach. Jungwoo takes a step closer, urging Yukhei’s hand lower with his body language.

Yukhei knows how to tease too, and instead, he slides the cloth down Jungwoo’s thigh. Jungwoo groans, drops his head to rest on Yukhei’s shoulder, and watches the cloth run over every part of his lower body besides where he wants it to be.

When Yukhei’s finished, he’s got Jungwoo hard without even touching his dick and kissing at Yukhei’s shoulder just because he needs something to do with his mouth. Jungwoo’s hands wrap around Yukhei’s waist and pulls their bodies together. With Yukhei close enough now, he kisses him again.

Jungwoo positions himself so that when he pushes his hips forward, there’s friction between them that has Yukhei breaking their kiss just to moan against Jungwoo’s lips. Drops of water drip from the tips of his bangs and slide down his face as he presses his forehead together with Jungwoo’s.

Yukhei’s hand snakes between their bodies and takes hold of Jungwoo’s dick properly for the first time tonight. His fingers wrap around, settle, and begin at a slow pace in a stroking motion. Jungwoo’s eyes flutter shut and he sighs heavily, leaning his entire body forward against Yukhei’s.

Jungwoo stops him after only a few minutes, though. He knows how often the two of them get caught up in the moment and don’t look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture right now is: they have the whole night to themselves, there’s no need to trade handjobs in the shower when Jungwoo’s bed is only a short walk away.

Blindly reaching behind him, Jungwoo presses the water off and says, “Let’s go.”

There’s no questioning on Yukhei’s part. His hand moves itself to Jungwoo’s waist and helps keep his balance as he steps out of the shower. Their drying job is mediocre but they think they can count on the sheets on Jungwoo’s bed to do the rest.

It’s dark outside by the time they’re back in Jungwoo’s room. His curtains are drawn but they can see the moonlight through the blinds shining through just slightly. The only real light in the room is the one coming from Jungwoo’s laptop— his research paper left abandoned an hour ago and will be left that way until sometime tomorrow.

Jungwoo walks himself backward, holding on to Yukhei, until his knees hit the edge of his mattress. He lets himself fall back, Yukhei’s hand on the back of his neck to ensure a safe landing, and exhales slowly. Immediately, Jungwoo crosses his ankles behind Yukhei’s back to keep him happily trapped in his hold.

With their erections aligned, Yukhei pushes his hips downward, causing both him and Jungwoo to moan. Jungwoo breaks the kiss, buries his head against Yukhei’s neck, and just lets himself feel. Feels Yukhei’s hand on his back keeping him in place, feels his dick sliding against Yukhei’s flexed stomach muscles when he arches his back, and feels precome smearing between the two of them.

Their kisses turn sloppy, less calculation and precision to it now that their brains are hyper-focused on how good it feels to thrust their hips, chasing an orgasm that they both know is far off still.

White light from the moon breaks it’s way into Jungwoo’s room and highlights three lines across his face. His eyes are sparkling as he looks up at Yukhei, his tongue sliding teasingly against his bottom lip, daring for Yukhei to come closer and taste. He’s a tease, Yukhei is well aware of that. A beautiful tease.

That’s one thing Jungwoo doesn’t let just anyone know about him: how quickly his perceived innocence washes away the second he’s behind closed doors— and sometimes even before that. He’s a different person. Not everyone gets to hear the way his voice changes when he’s completely turned on; the softness remains but the tone he gains is one that lets Yukhei know what Jungwoo says, goes.

Jungwoo is confident in himself in bed and Yukhei thinks that’s the biggest difference. Because he can doubt himself on the soccer field, or the speech he has to make for class, but he’s never doubted his ability to please Yukhei. Jungwoo is a lot of things, but he’s never been indecisive. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He leaves Yukhei in awe every time.

Yukhei kisses from Jungwoo’s shoulder to just below his ear. Tonguing at the lobe, he asks Jungwoo between elongated kisses, “What do you want, babe?”

Pushing his hips upward, sliding his dick against the length of Yukhei’s, Jungwoo says back breathlessly, “I want you to fuck me.”

He’s not shy about it and that’s sexier than anything Yukhei can imagine. Jungwoo keeps eye contact with him as he tilts his chin upward to kiss him. Then Jungwoo starts to move his hips again, this time intentionally mimicking a grinding motion as if Yukhei was already inside of him. He watches Yukhei’s face change— his mouth drops open, his eyes squeeze shut, and his eyebrows knit together.

“ _Oh_ ,” Yukhei moans out, his breath already hitching. He grips Jungwoo at his sides, stopping his motion, and resting his head on Jungwoo’s shoulder. Jungwoo will never get tired of seeing how easily Yukhei gets worked up; his face is so expressive that he could tease him all day.

The two of them part for a few moments as Jungwoo leans over and rummages through the second drawer of his nightstand. He fishes out a bottle of lube that he hands to Yukhei.

Jungwoo places himself on the center of the bed, lays flat on his back, and lets his legs fall open. Patiently, he waits. With his lip caught between his teeth, Jungwoo uses one arm to give support to his neck, and the other to stroke himself slowly.

He kisses down Jungwoo’s midsection, tongue making an appearance at the right spots, and stops at Jungwoo’s inner thigh. Yukhei lifts Jungwoo’s legs, has him press his knees against his chest, and licks torturously slow at his entrance.

Hissing, Jungwoo flinches. Suddenly, he’s out of breath; panting softly as Yukhei’s tongue works on him. Jungwoo wraps his free arm around the underside of his thighs to keep them in place. Every once in awhile, he pets through Yukhei’s hair encouragingly, letting him know he’s definitely enjoying what he’s feeling.

The switch from Yukhei’s tongue to Yukhei’s fingers is a quick one. And Yukhei’s fingers, just like the rest of his hand (and the rest of his whole body), are big. The intermission as Yukhei’s flicks open the lube bottle and squeezes a small amount onto the tip of his finger is a short one. He knows Jungwoo doesn’t like to wait.

Yukhei cuts right to the chase and pushes the tip of his finger inside of Jungwoo. He feels his muscles tightening around his finger and then slowly relaxing. Yukhei sits up, parts Jungwoo’s legs so he can see his face, and pushes in deeper.

Jungwoo’s got his eyes closed, bangs falling beautifully across his forehead, and chewing on his bottom lip. When Yukhei has found a perfect rhythm inside of him, Jungwoo starts to push back. He rocks his hips, meeting Yukhei’s finger halfway. Yukhei watches him swallow hard before he moans out, “More.”

Yukhei is quick to obey, he lubes up another finger and pushes inside. He’s quick to find a pace Jungwoo likes and gets fascinated by the way his breathing changes when Yukhei curls his fingers a little or goes a bit deeper. Jungwoo’s got the prettiest moans Yukhei’s ever heard and it’s like music to his ears to please him.

“Oh, fuck me,” Jungwoo says when Yukhei starts to twist his fingers inside of him. His head drops to the side and his hips fall still, letting Yukhei go as fast as he likes.

Jungwoo means it as an expression, but Yukhei leans forward to kiss at his hip anyway, and tells him like a promise, “I will.” Then, looking up at Jungwoo, “Just tell me when.”

The way Jungwoo reaches for his dick, trying to align them so he could thrust forward, is all the permission Yukhei needs. It’s hard to focus on opening the bottle and slicking himself up with the way Jungwoo is stroking him, looking up at him so sinfully inviting, tongue sliding over his top teeth.

Jungwoo’s got his hand on Yukhei’s hip when he first enters him. His hand is a guide, only allowing him in an inch or two at a time, and not moving until Jungwoo allows him to. Under him, Yukhei hears Jungwoo whining through heavy exhales. Yukhei’s dick, just like his fingers and his hands and the rest of him, is big too. And when he’s finally all the way in, Yukhei sees Jungwoo smiling softly like he’s accomplished something— completely satisfied.

“Go ahead,” Jungwoo says softly. His fingers curl around Yukhei’s side and pulls him forward and then pushes him backward, pacing him. Following Jungwoo’s example, Yukhei begins.

The two of them always fit so well together, they’re lucky to say there’s rarely any awkwardness between the two of them. Even when it came to sex, their first time wasn’t weird at all. They were quick to follow each other’s lead and focused solely on pleasing the other. Nothing has changed, months later, and they still find new ways to blow each other’s mind.

Yukhei’s hands take a tight hold on Jungwoo’s hips as he goes a little faster. He watches Jungwoo’s face and works off of his expressions, changing the way he’s moving to the sounds and faces he makes. Yukhei’s a people pleaser, and he’s good at it. He’s always known exactly what to do for Jungwoo.

“Harder,” Jungwoo requests breathlessly, lifting his hips to meet Yukhei. He swears he can feel every inch of him inside hitting all of the right spots and making him lose his breath a little each time he thrusts forward. Jungwoo braces his hand against Yukhei’s stomach when he obliges.

Against his fingertips and the palm of his hand, Jungwoo feels Yukhei’s stomach muscles working to keep his pace steady. They tighten when he pushes forward and stretch themselves when he pulls back. Jungwoo touches him arbitrarily, fingers roaming everywhere he can reach. Encouragingly, Jungwoo tells him, “Just like that, baby. That’s good. Good job.”

Jungwoo doesn’t like to be on his back for too long. Missionary is fine and it’s intimate, but he likes to be on top. His favorite position in the world is when he’s riding Yukhei. He likes being in control, likes being able to keep the pace, and _loves_ the way Yukhei falls apart under him.

So Jungwoo switches their position. He sits up and puts himself on his knees. Jungwoo pats the mattress beside him, instructing Yukhei to lay down right there. When Yukhei is in place, Jungwoo lifts one leg up and over him and waits.

Yukhei is impatient, as always, and puts his hands on Jungwoo’s thighs.

“Sit back,” Yukhei says almost desperately.

Jungwoo leans forward, just to make him wait. He kisses Yukhei, tongues sliding against each other, and breath mixing. Jungwoo reaches between them and takes hold of Yukhei’s dick. He jerks him, upbeat and quick, and smiles at the way his back arches off of the bed.

“Jungwoo-hyung,” he calls, eyes closed and chest rising quickly. Again, he pushes at Jungwoo’s thigh, trying to get him to sit back and give him back the feeling his whole body is craving.

This time, Jungwoo is kind. With Yukhei’s dick still in his hand, Jungwoo lines himself up. He feels the head of Yukhei’s dick brush against his entrance and holds his breath as he allows himself to sink downward.

They both moan, pleasure shooting through them as Jungwoo goes as far down as he’s able to. Panting, Jungoo puts his hands on Yukhei’s chest for leverage as he starts to move. He wastes no time grinding his hips, moving at a pace that pleases him and Yukhei.

Having Jungwoo on top of him is the best thing Yukhei’s ever had the pleasure of seeing. When he’s in his element like this— riding Yukhei like it’s the last time he’ll ever get to do it, eyes locked with Yukhei’s for added measure, moaning every few seconds— Yukhei can’t think of anything better. He’s merrily at Jungwoo’s mercy; holds still and lets Jungwoo do as he pleases.

Yukhei’s always vocal; lets out whines and moans the entire time. He tells Jungwoo how good he feels, and how pretty he looks, and that he loves him. It’s a string of mostly nonsense, but those are the coherent things Jungwoo catches between his moans. Jungwoo thinks he’s cute, especially when he’s overwhelmed like this. It’s Jungwoo’s favorite thing.

The moonlight highlights the outline of Jungwoo’s abs, usually faint under his smooth, slender frame, but prominent right now as he uses them to grind his hips. He throws his head back, exposing the veins in his neck when he gets close. Yukhei is quick to take hold of his dick. He strokes him quick, helping him get closer to his orgasm.

Yukhei always wants Jungwoo to come first. He gets pleasure from knowing he’s rightfully pleasured Jungwoo. So when the rocking of Jungwoo’s hips get a bit stuttered and his movement begins to focus on how good Yukhei’s hand feels around his dick, Yukhei knows he’s close.

“Fuck,” Jungwoo whispers, his face scrunches up in pleasure. A thin layer of sweat has formed over his body; his face and chest glistening in the faint light. Jungwoo’s blunt fingernails scratch against Yukhei’s chest and his breaths come in short gasps when he releases.

White streaks paint Yukhei’s stomach and drip down the back of his hand by the time Jungwoo’s finished. On top of him, Jungwoo looks exhausted. His head drops, chin nearly touching his chest as he tries to catch his breath. Yukhei holds him by the waist and flips him back onto the mattress.

This time, Jungwoo’s all out of requests and lets Yukhei fuck him as quickly and as hard as he needs to reach his end. He throws an arm over his face and moans into his skin as Yukhei holds him in place.

Yukhei is moaning Jungwoo’s name when he comes, wrapping him up like he’s giving him a bear hug, and keeping him close. His breath is heavy against Jungwoo’s neck as he tries to catch it. On top of Jungwoo, Yukhei’s body is trembling. Jungwoo only has half the mind to rub his back in an attempt to comfort him. He’s too tired to do much else.

It feels like they’re both floating when Yukhei repositions himself beside Jungwoo instead of on top of him. Yukhei reaches for him, extra clingy as always after sex, and rests his head on Jungwoo’s shoulder.

Reluctantly, Yukhei asks, after they’ve been quiet for a while, “We should clean up, right?”

But Jungwoo feels like his mind is drifting, all he wants to do is sleep. He’s exhausted, and he knows Yukhei is too.

“Can’t hear you, I’m sleeping,” he says to Yukhei. It makes Yukhei laugh and he tickles Jungwoo’s side in response.

Jungwoo wishes he weren’t such a neat freak, because he knows the truth is that Yukhei could and would fall asleep just fine like this but he can’t. He wants to so bad, because his thighs feel like they’re on fire and his head is still blissfully spinning a bit, but he can’t.

He groans dramatically loud before he exits the bed. He comes back with a damp cloth and wipes them both off. It’s a half-ass cleaning job, but it’ll suffice enough to allow his mind peace so he can sleep.

When the two of the resettle, they’re properly under Jungwoo’s covers. Yukhei is quick to have them cuddle and Jungwoo is quick to let him.

“I love you,” Yukhei says with his eyes closed and his hand petting absentmindedly at Jungwoo’s hip.

Jungwoo kisses Yukhei’s forehead, pulls him closer and says back, “I love you, too, baby.”

It’s not the first time they’ve said “I love you” to each other. Truthfully, they can’t remember who said it first or when, because they say it all the time. But the best part about it is that it always feels like the first time. They both get butterflies in their stomach when the other says it back. It’s like falling in love over and over again.

Yukhei hopes he never stops falling in love with Jungwoo.

 

 

⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄⌃ ⌄

 

Jungwoo doesn’t know much, but he thinks it’s safe to say you’re in love when you worry about the other person more than you worry about yourself. When the first thing you think of when you see rain is the person you care about and hope they brought their umbrella with them.

Yukhei doesn’t know much, but he thinks it’s safe to say you’re in love when the person helps you grow. When, because of them, you’re constantly evolving into a better version of you. Where yesterday’s you is nothing compared to today’s you, and there’s no stopping next month’s you.

And maybe, you’re in love when the best part of your day is seeing them smile. Or, even better, being the reason they’re smiling. Because they’re the reason you’re smiling, too. And maybe, you’re in love when you find yourself thinking how wonderful it’d be to wake up next to them for the rest of your life.

Jungwoo and Yukhei don’t know much, and they’d never claim to, but they think it’s safe to say they know a thing or two about love thanks to each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ______________________________

 

end.

**Author's Note:**

> Any comments, as always, is greatly appreciated.  
> You can find me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/1995soulmates) and/or [tip me](https://ko-fi.com/P5P6C2BE) if you’d like!


End file.
